Lasell Men’s Hoops Prevails Over Mustangs

Newton, MA- After building a twenty point second half lead over Mount Ida College on Tuesday, the ever persistent Mustangs went on two late runs to close back in on the Lasell College men's basketball team, and found themselves tied, 67-67, with 3:36 on the clock.  The Lasers, however, dug deep to pull out a 73-70 win, marking their second GNAC victory over the Mustangs this season.  Mount Ida falls to 9-11 overall, and 3-10 in the GNAC, while the Lasers hold a 15-7 overall and 12-3 conference mark with three regular season games to go. 

The opening minutes of the game were uneasy for both teams, though the Lasers found themselves holding a slight edge.  Mount Ida continued to struggle through the half, scoring just nine points in the first nine minutes, and trailing to the Lasers, 20-9, after a three by junior Charles Horton (Worcester, Mass.).  The Lasers pushed ahead, and a baseline jumper by Javon Williams (Mattapan, Mass.) finalized the half with the visitors holding a 36-20 edge.

The Lasers continued to move forward, going up by a game high twenty points at the 13 minute mark of the second after a Williams lay-in.  Mount Ida answered by going on a 10-0 run, gaining momentum as they closed in on the visitors.  Johrone Bunch (Meriden, Conn.) brought the game into single digits with a layup at 6:11, then followed that up with a trifecta to send the Mustangs on another 8-0 run. 

Junior Darren Martinez (Mattapan, Mass.) tied the score for the first time off a pair of free throws, 65-65.  Another basket by Williams reclaimed the lead in the Lasers' advantage, but the Mustangs continued their pursuit.  The hosts pulled within one point, twice, before the end of the contest, but the Lasers hit valuable free throws down the stretch to prevail, 73-70.

Williams was hot for Lasell, dropping in a career-high 19 points and picking up 7 boards, 2 steals, and 2 assists in the process.  Though the Mustangs were keeping Lasell's senior forward Jose Guitian (Miami, FL) bogged down with a double or triple team all night, he still managed to produce 19 points, six boards, and 3 assists for the Lasers.  Guitian also denied six Mustang shots.  Senior Junior Sanival (Miami, FL/Miami Springs) also chipped in 11 points for the visitors, connecting on 3-three's.

The Mustangs were led by Santos with 16 points and two rebounds while Bennett and Bunch added 10 points apiece, Bennett notching nine boards.

Lasell's next contest is Saturday, February 14th, against Suffolk University.  The date also marks the Senior Day for four graduating Laser athletes.  Guitian, Sainval, Brad Caravoulias (Dracut, Mass.) and Kevin Fallon (Manasquan, NJ) will each be honored before the start of the contest for their outstanding careers at Lasell.