MBK: Lasers ride dominant second half to victory over Albertus Magnus

Newton, Mass. – The starters for the Lasell University Lasers men's basketball team shouldered the load to topple the Albertus Magnus College Falcons, 101-83, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) matchup, Wednesday at the Lasell Athletic Center.

Senior EJ Day (Norwalk, Conn.) led the way with 32 points on 11-17 shooting. Fellow classmate Kevin Nunez (Dorchester, Mass.) grabbed a double-double scoring 24 points and bringing down 11 rebounds, one of three Lasers with a double-double. Graduate student Kevin Vanderhorst (Lawrence, Mass.) had 20 points and added 14 rebounds for his double-double. Graduate student Jonathan Friberg (North Attleboro, Mass.) scored 10 points with 10 rebounds for the double-double.

The Falcons were led by senior Davon Warner (New Haven, Conn.) who had 24 points including seven threes. Junior Mekhi Warren (New Haven, Conn.) scored 22 points on 10-12 shooting and added eight rebounds. Senior Tyreek Perkins (New Haven, Conn.) also scored in double figures with 19.

The first half was nip and tuck between the two sides with neither being able to pull out much of an advantage. The first five minutes belongs to the Falcons however, taking their biggest lead of the first half on a Warren tip-in with just under five minutes gone. The next five minutes belonged to the Lasers as they stormed back to tie and take the lead with 11:47 remaining in the first. They took their biggest lead of the half with 10:37 left to cap off a 13-0 run. Albertus got the game tied on a Warner three with 8:42 remaining in the half and the game went back and forth from there. Both teams had small runs to build a little cushion, but each time was quickly erased by the other side. Albertus got hot at the right time, after trailing by two with 53 seconds remaining, they scored the last five points to take a three-point lead into the break.

The first three minutes of the second half belonged to the Falcons as they made a strong push, getting their lead to double figures on a Warren layup and scoring 10 of the first 12 points before a Lasell timeout. From that point on the game completely belonged to the Lasers. They went on a 12-0 run following the timeout, spearheaded by seven points by Vanderhorst. The Falcons hung tough not letting the Lasers get much of a lead over the next three minutes as the Lasers only led by one with just over 10 minutes remaining. Over the next five minutes the Lasers were in complete control scoring 15 of the next 17 points to open a 15-point lead. The lead got as big as 19 points on a three by Day and would end at that mark as the Lasers used the strong second half to win 102-83.

The Lasers shot incredibly well from the field and behind the arc, shooting 54.2% from the field and 55 percent from three. They also dominated on the glass as the Vanderhorst, Nunez and Freiberg trio outrebounded the Falcons by themselves.

The Lasers will be back in action on Saturday, January 15, when they travel to Johnson & Wales for a GNAC battle. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.