Men's Basketball Drops Opener to Rhode Island College

Newton, Mass. (11/15/12) – The Lasell College men's basketball team dropped their season opener to the visiting Anchormen of Rhode Island College, 72-63. Lasell opens the season 0-1, and will travel to Nichols College on Saturday for a 12 p.m. matchup, while RIC improved to 1-0 and will host Brandeis University on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Senior Sean Bertanza (Seymour, Conn.) led Lasell with 14 points, while junior Brandon Ganesh (West Palm Beach, Fla.) added 13 points and senior Arthur Alexander (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) finished with 10. Rhode Island College placed four players in double figures led by Mike Neal (Pawtucket, R.I.), while Tahrike Carter (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Jacob Page (Brookline, Mass.), and Michael Palumbo (Providence, R.I.) each finished with 11 points. Freshmen Logan Liberty (Duxbury, Vt.) led Lasell on the glass with a team-high eight rebounds, while Rhode Island College's Tahrike Carter and Jacob Page eached collected eight caroms on the night.

The Lasers trailed 32-31 at the half and RIC opened the half on an 8-0 run to lead 40-31 with 18:32 left in the game. Lasell fought back, scoring 14 of the next 17 points to take a 45-43 lead with 13:27 to play. The Anchormen rallied back with 11 straight points, taking a 54-45 lead that they would not relinquish the rest of the way.

The Anchormen shot 27-54 from the floor and 4-10 from three-point territory, which helped them offset a 14-32 performance from the free throw line. Lasell finished 23-63 from the floor and 5-27 from downtown in the loss.