MBB: Lasers Advance to GNAC Finals, Defeat USJ 80-69

Newton, MA - The #2 seeded Lasell University Lasers hosted the #3 Blue Jays of Saint Joseph (CT) on Thursday for the Semi-Final Round of the GNAC Tournament. 

In their regular season matchup, the Lasers defeated the Blue Jays for the first time in program history 71-66. After defeating them, they jumped up in the standings and ended up earning the homecourt advantage in the playoffs, which proved to be very useful Thursday. In front of a packed Laser crowd, the energy was felt right from the tip as Che Hanks got to his spot in the midrange and hit a baseline jumper scoring the first points of the game. However, these would be the only two Laser points across the first four minutes, as both teams struggled to score. After taking a 7-2 lead into the first media timeout, the Blue Jays scored twice more out of the intermission going up 11-2. The slow start and early Blue Jay lead did not phase the Lasers though, as by the second media timeout they were able to settle in and narrow the deficit to only 3, behind three-pointers from Esmer Madesko and Che Hanks. As soon as the Lasers had whittled the lead down, USJ proceeded to rattle off an 11-2 run, which made it 26-14 Blue Jays with 6:28 remaining in the half. Facing their largest deficit of 12, the Lasers knew they needed to climb back in before the end of the half. A Daniel Edmonds layup got the run started, which then turned into multiple defensive stops and transition buckets. This was capped by Conan McCusker feeding Esmer Madesko whose layup made it just a two point game. A few minutes later, another Madesko layup put the Lasers up 29-28, which was their first lead since 2-0. Marcus Lewis then ended the half with a jumper that gave the Lasers a 31-30 halftime edge. 

Opening the second half, each team held leads of four points in the early going. First Lasell got a 36-32 lead after seeing a Che Hanks triple drop through the net. Then after being down 37-40 at a media timeout, the Blue Jays went 9-2 over just a 1:49 span and recaptured the lead 46-42, forcing a Lasell timeout. Going forward a couple of minutes, the game was 52-51 in favor of the Lasers when Hanks got inside for another score. Andy Madesko then forced a steal which left him alone on the break where he punched the ball home and made USJ call a timeout, going up 56-51. After the timeout, Saint Joseph would even the game up again just over a minute later, 58-58, and once more 60-60. Following this tie though, the Lasers would not relinquish the lead again. Brothers Andy and Esmer Madesko took turns over key moments down the stretch combining for the next 9 Lasell points, bringing the game to a 69-65 score with 3:16 remaining. Getting a stop on the defensive end, Che Hanks then drove and spun the ball off glass pushing the lead to 6. Then after getting fouled on his next attack to the hoop, he sank two free throws making it a three possession game with 1:45 left. At this point, USJ needed multiple buckets and stops to make it interesting, and the Lasers did not allow this to happen as they secured rebounds and sank enough of their shots from the line to keep the Blue Jays at bay. The Lasers would go on to win with a final score of 80-69 and advance to their first GNAC Championship appearance since the 2016-17 season. 

Che Hanks had the hot hand all night putting up a season-high 27 points in the Laser victory. Closely behind him was Esmer Madesko who notched 23 points and also provided 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Andy Madesko had a typical great all around effort with 13 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists. Marcus Lewis also joined his teammates in double-figures with 12 points and 6 rebounds. 

Up Next - The Lasers will now travel to face the #1 seed Saint Joseph (ME) in Standish, ME on Saturday afternoon for the GNAC title. Game time is TBD.