Omanovic Beats the Overtime Buzzer to Propel Men's Hoops Over Rivier 78-75

NEWTON, Mass. (12/1/15) – Junior guard Armin Omanovic (Wilkesboro, N.C.) nailed a deep three-pointer at the buzzer to send the Lasell men's basketball team over Rivier University 78-75 on Tuesday evening in the Athletic Center. The Lasers get a 1-0 start in conference play and shift to 2-3 overall, while the Raiders remain winless at 0-6 and fall to 0-1 in the GNAC.

STAT LEADERS FOR LASELL  

• Four starters scored in double-digits on the evening, as senior guard Richard O'Brien (Manchester, N.H.) led all players with 23 points on 7-for-14 shooting to go along with 50% shooting from downtown.
• Senior forward Pat Marchand (Cranston, R.I.) registered his first double-double of the season with 13 points and 13 rebounds, while senior forward Logan Liberty (Duxbury, Vt.) scored 11 points with four boards.

STAT LEADERS FOR RIVIER

• Junior guard Victor Davila (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) led the visitors with 17 points overall with all points coming from behind the arc.
• Junior forward Kevin Francis (Cromwell, Conn.) and sophomore guard Andre Ruff (Chicago, Ill.) rounded off the double-digit scoring with 14 and 13 points, respectively.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• At the 8:58 mark of half one, a Francis layup broke a 13-13 tie where the Raiders held on the lead until Marchand collected a pass from sophomore Scott Arsenault (Walpole, Mass.) to give Lasell a 32-31 advantage before the halftime break.
• The second stanza saw four deadlocks on which the Raiders held composure for the lead before junior forward Yordan Villalon (Miami, Fla.) tipped in two points from the glass to trail just 63-61 with eight seconds remaining in regulation.
• The Lasers capitalized on a Rivier turnover and set O'Brien up for the two-point equalizer, where he drove to the basket and sunk the layup at the horn to force overtime action in the Athletic Center Gym. With 16 seconds left, O'Brien sank a free throw for the 75-73 lead, where Francis answered right back with a layup of his own.
• The clock ticked down from two seconds following Francis's basket, where Omanovic sprinted just past half court and chucked up the go-ahead three-pointer at the buzzer to give Lasell the 78-75 overtime-thriller victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Rivier outshot Lasell from the floor 45.9% to 35.5% and held a 39.1% edge in three-pointers to 29.05.
• Rivier gave up 11 turnovers to which Lasell scored 12 points, yielding just nine turnovers of its own.

WHAT'S NEXT

• Both teams return to action on Thursday, December 3. Lasell will travel to Rhode Island College for a non-conference test at 7:30 p.m., while the Raiders host Anna Maria College in another GNAC tilt.