Johnson & Wales rallies past Lasell Men’s Basketball

NEWTON, Mass. – Johnson & Wales University rallied from a 10-point deficit with 10 minutes to go Tuesday evening to defeat Lasell College, 80-71, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball game at the Lasell Athletic Center.

The Wildcats won their fourth game in a row to improve to 11-8 overall and 8-2 in the GNAC, while Lasell slipped to 8-11 overall and 6-4 in conference play.

All five Johnson & Wales starters scored in double figures, led by junior Randall Ferdinand (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), who finished with 24 points and nine rebounds. Freshman Nate Patenaude (Smithfield, R.I.) added 17 points, junior Brian Hogan-Gary (Staten Island, N.Y.) was good for 14, and senior Jarell Lawson (Providence, R.I.) and junior Matt Madoian (North Kingstown, R.I.) contributed 11 points apiece.

The Lasers got 20 points apiece from junior Tim Blair (Newington, Conn) and sophomore Stefan Masciarelli (Northbridge, Mass), while senior Scott Arsenault (Walpole, Mass.) scored 15 points and freshman Liam Jacobs (Plainfield, Conn.) added nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Blair was 4-for-5 from three-point range in the first half and 6-for-8 overall, but missed all seven shots from beyond the arc in the second half.

Blair and Arsenault got hot midway through the first half as Lasell went on a 13-3 surge to take a nine-point lead, 32-23. Blair had eight points and Arsenault five in the five-minute surge. JWU battled back to within two before Masciarelli and Jacobs hit a pair of late baskets to give the hosts an eight-point margin at the intermission, 44-36.

Lasell had its largest lead of the night, 52-40, with 17 minutes remaining, and held a 61-51 margin at the 10-minute mark. The Wildcats clawed their way back with a 17-6 run over the next four minutes, sparked by six points apiece from Patenaude and Hogan-Gary and a three-pointer by Lawson. After taking the lead, 68-67, with just under six minutes remaining, the Wildcats added six more unanswered points to go up 74-67 with four minutes go to.

Lasell came back to within three points (74-71) but did not score in the final three minutes while JWU tacked on six points, including five from Lawson, to seal the victory.

The Lasers are home again on Thursday, February 1, hosting Regis College at 7:00 p.m. while JWU returns home to host Saint Joseph's College of Maine Thursday at 7:00 p.m.

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