MBK: Day leads the way as the Lasers open 2022 with a win

Newton, Mass. – Senior EJ Day (Norwalk, Conn.) scored 28 points to lead the Lasell University Lasers men's basketball team to a, 73-70, victory over Emmanuel College in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) matchup, Thursday at the Lasell Athletic Center.

Graduate student Jonathan Friberg (North Attleboro, Mass.) and senior Kevin Nunez (Dorchester, Mass.) scored 16 points. Graduate student Kevin Vanderhorst (Lawrence, Mass.) dominated on the boards bringing down 18 rebounds.

Emmanuel was led by sophomore Bryant Ciccio (Attleboro, Mass.) who scored 19 off the bench, 11 of which came from the free throw line. Fellow classmate Donte Pope (Middletown, Conn.) had a double double scoring 18 points and adding 10 rebounds. Graduate student Zachary Crisafulli (Easthampton, Mass.) was the other Saint in double figures with 10 points.

The game started out very slow with each team only recording one make in the first three minutes of play. The Lasers picked it up through going on an 8-0 run over the next two and a half minutes of play. Emmanuel answered the Laser run with one of their own going on an 11-0 run over the next three minutes. From that point forward the game was hotly contested with neither side being able to pull away. They traded buckets and leads all the way until Pope hit a three to give the Saints a two-point lead going into the half.

The second half started the way the first half ended, neither side could separate themselves from the other. The biggest lead in the first 10 minutes of the half was four points by Emmanuel on a free throw by senior Devin Pulsifer (Winthrop, Mass.). From that moment forward the tide of the game changed, flipping in favor of Lasell. A little more than a minute later the game was all square on the Vanderhorst layup, and two minutes after it was all square the Lasers had a five-point lead. Lasell went on a 11-0 run to push their lead to 12 with 3:34 left to play. Emmanuel had an answer to a Laser run once again though, following the 11-0 run with a quick 8-0 run of their own getting the game down to four with 1:22 remaining. The Saint could never get back past the four points as the Lasers knocked down their free throws to put away the Saints 73-70.

Turnovers and points off turnovers were the story of the game, as the Saints had twice as many turnovers as the Lasers and Lasell scored 32 points off those turnovers. The Lasers also had the edge in the paint scoring 36 of their 73 points in the paint compared to 20 of their 70 points by the Saints.

The Lasers will be back in action when they travel to Norwich on Saturday, January 8, for a GNAC clash. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.