Lasers Pick up Third GNAC Win with 71-52 Victory over Rivier

Newton, MA - The Lasell men's basketball team defeated Rivier College, 71-52, in a GNAC conference matchup Saturday afternoon at the Lasell College Athletic Center.  The victory gives Lasell its second win at home this season and improves their overall record to 4-7 (3-1 GNAC).

Junior co-captain Sean Bertanza (Seymour, CT) was the scoring leader for the Lasers putting up a game and team high of 18 points.  Senior co-captain Javon Williams (Mattapan, MA) chipped in with 17 points.  Sherrod Wade (College Park, GA) was the only other Laser to score in double figures with 12 points.  Tom Poitras (Bow, NH) led the scoring for the Raiders with 15 points.    

Lasell came out of the gates strong in the first half and a layup by Wade at 17:04, gave the Lasers an early 9-2 lead.  After a Raider time-out, Rivier would go on a 12-0 run to take a 14-9 lead at the 12:50 mark.  The Lasers came back to answer with a 10-0 run of their own to go up 19-14 after a Nate DiSessa (Westfield, MA) layup at 9:08.  The Lasers were able to increase their lead to 24-17 after another Wade layup at the 6:06 mark.  The Lasers continued to control the rest of the half and went to the locker room with a 30-22 halftime advantage.

Early in the second half, the Lasers came out firing as Bertanza hit two quick threes to give Lasell a 36-22 lead at 19:27.  After a Bertanza layup at 16:25 the score was 43-28 Lasers.  Rivier would begin to claw their way back into the game after two Poitras free throws at 9:05 to cut the host's lead to 53-48.  That was closest the Raiders would get for the rest of the game as the Lasers' offense kept clicking.  Lasell closed out the game on a 19-4 run to settle the final score at 71-52 Lasers. 

Lasell shot 53.7% from the floor and 38.9% (7-18) from behind the arc.  Rivier was held to only 41.5% from the floor and 0-13 from behind the three point line. The Lasers also controlled the boards, grabbing 40 rebounds to the Raider's 24.

The Raiders fall to 2-8 overall and 0-3 in the GNAC.  Their next game is home against GNAC opponent Albertus Magnus Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. 

With the win, Lasell improves to 4-7 overall and 3-1 in the GNAC. The Lasers will look to keep the winning ways going when they return to action at home on Tuesday against GNAC opponent St. Joseph's College (ME) at 8 p.m. 

Story courtesy of Dan Nunn