MBK: Lasell taken down by Suffolk; Masciarelli, Vanderhorst lead Lasers in setback

BOSTON – Five different Suffolk University players produced double figures in scoring Saturday afternoon to anchor the Rams to a 90-64 non-conference men's basketball victory over Lasell University at the Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court.

The Rams earned the win in their home opener to improve to 2-1 on the season while Lasell drops to 0-3.

The Lasers had two players who finished in double figures as senior Stefan Masciarelli (Northbridge, Mass.) scored 17 points and junior Kevin Vanderhorst (Lawrence, Mass.) posted his second double-double in three games this season with 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Suffolk gained a double-digit distance early on at 17-7, but that margin did not last long. Masciarelli took control for the Lasers and pulled Lasell within one, 19-18, before Vanderhorst leveled the playing field at 21-all with 8:02 left in the first frame. Brendan Mulson broke a 23-23 tie with a bucket from behind-the-arc that sparked an 8-3 Rams run that pushed the hosts ahead by a handful, 31-26.

Lasell kept things interesting, however, and back-to-back buckets from the visitors kept it a one-possession game, 31-30, with 3:46 to go before half time. It turned into the Suffolk show from there as four difference players combined for 10 unanswered points that gave the blue-and-gold a 41-30 advantage at the 1:33 minute mark that grew to a 46-31 cushion at the intermission.

Suffolk's late scoring carried into the opening portion of the second stanza. Over the first 90 seconds the Rams put together a 6-1 spurt capped off by a dunk from Max Bonney-Liles that extended the advantage to 20 points, 52-32. It was cruise control from there for the blue-and-gold led by as many as 32, 80-48, when Nate Hale knocked down a triple with 6:25 remaining in regulation.

Lasell returns home to host Amherst College on Tuesday, November 19, at 7 p.m. at the Athletic Center. It will be Amherst's season opener as the Mammoth's were ranked fourth in the D3Hoops.com national preseason poll after advancing to the NCAA Sweet 16 last season and finishing 25-5.

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