Men's Basketball: Day and Vanderhorst lead the way as Lasers topple Dean, 78-64

FRANKLIN, Mass. – Senior EJ Day scored a season-high 35 points to lead the Lasell University men's basketball team to a Great Northeast Athletic Conference victory over Dean, 78-64, Friday at Pieri Gymnasium.

Day shot 10 of 23 from the field, 3 of 6 on 3-pointers and 12 of 12 from the free-throw line, while tying a season-high five steals for the Lasers (11-6, 8-3 GNAC). Graduate student Kevin Vanderhorst scored a season-high 25 points on 11-of-17 shooting from the field and brought down 15 rebounds for the only double-double of the game. Vanderhorst is seven points away from the 1,000-career point mark.

"Day and Vanderhorst really carried us tonight" said Lasell University Men's Basketball Head Coach Aaron Galletta. "Dean made us work for everything we got. The Bulldogs played with great energy and execution all night. We were able to get some big stops late in the game that helped us pull this one out."

Sophomore Shim Daniels led the way for the Bulldogs (5-11, 0-9 GNAC) with 21 points, shooting 8-of-15 from the field. Junior Mark Blair scored 15 points and added seven rebounds, while senior Nick Sampeck scored 11 points off the bench.

The Lasers jumped out quickly scoring 12 of the first 14 points, getting five points from Day and four by senior Kevin Nunez. Another five points from Day gave the Lasers a 17-4 advantage with 13:39 left, which was tied for their largest lead in the first half.

After the two sides traded baskets, the Bulldogs stormed back going on an 11-0 run, bringing the Lasers lead down to 19-17 with 8:54 remaining. Sophomore Tate Niemela started a 6-0 run for the visitors with 7:08 on the clock, and then Lasell got the lead back up to double figures on a layup by Day with 1:33 showing. Dean answered back, scoring the final six points of the half to trim the Lasers' advantage to 37-32.

The teams traded baskets for the first five minutes of the second half. Following a Lasell timeout, two quick Vanderhorst layups got the lead back up to double figures at 49-39 with 14:13 remaining. The Bulldogs kept hanging around and they got the game back down to five midway through the half on a layup by Blair. The Lasers pushed their lead back to 10 with just over six minutes remaining on a three-ball by Day. Day's trey started an 8-0 surge, and then an old-fashioned 3-point play by Nunez gave the hosts a 71-56 lead with 4:12 on the clock, which was tied for the largest lead of the game. Dean was unable to get closer than 12 the rest of the way.

The Lasers will be back in action on Tuesday, Feb. 1, when they travel to Albertus Magnus for a conference matchup. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in New Haven, Connecticut.

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