Men's Hoops Outlasts Anna Maria 92-72

Lasell improves to 13-7 on the season and 10-3 in GNAC play with its third straight win, while AMC falls to 3-17 overall and 3-10 in the conference after losing its seventh consecutive game.

Senior Armin Omanovic (Wilkesboro, N.C.) led three Laser scorers in double figures with 32 points, while classmate John Powell (Ashland, Mass.) followed close behind with a season-high 31, including 18 in the second half. Sophomore Tim Blair (Newington, Conn.) reached the 20-point mark for the fourth time this season.

Powell led the Lasers with 12 rebounds, while senior Yordan Villalon (Miami, Fla.) brought down ten. Junior Derek McMahon (Hatfield, Mass.) dished out a career-high nine of the Lasers' 15 assists.

Freshman Mike Rapoza (Charlton, Mass.) posted a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, leading three AMCATS in double figures. Junior Kenneth Graham (West Haven, Conn.) scored 15, while junior Liam Pickett (Oxford, Mass.) added 11.

The teams combined to score 20 points in the game's first five minutes and ended up shooting 48 percent from the field in a fast-paced first half. Lasell built a 53-37 lead at the intermission, thanks in large part to Omanovic scoring 15 of 25 points from beyond the arc.

After splitting the first six points, Lasell went on a 12-2 run to open an 18-7 lead less than six minutes into the contest. Omanovic hit two consecutive triples in that span and eventually five of his first seven. His shot to close that span extended the hosts' advantage to 11, its smallest at any point until the end of the opening frame.

Lasell quickly extended its lead as Omanovic hit a pair of threes in a 20-second span and McMahon contributed one of his own for a 16-point advantage just past the halfway marker. Powell notched one of the game's highlights for Lasell with 8:29 to play as he took a feed from Omanovic for a monstrous dunk that forced AMC to call timeout.

Omanovic posted two more baskets in quick succession as the half wound down, including a layup that lifted the hosts to a 19-point lead with six minutes to play. Junior Chris Contento (Marshfield, Mass.) hit a pair of baskets to bring the visitors within 12 in the final three minutes, but a pair of free throws from Villalon and two more Omanovic baskets closed Lasell's scoring in the half.

The visitors scored 13 of the first 16 points in the second half and closed Lasell's lead to as few as six points as Graham hit five field goals in less than a five-minute span.

Again, the Lasers extended their lead in the late stages of the half as Powell missed just one of his seven field goals, scoring eight straight points from the 3:51 to 2:44 marks. Blair hit two of Lasell's three second-half triples, including one with 5:35 to play. He finished the night's scoring with a layup after forcing a steal with 2:06 left.

Both teams return to action on Saturday, February 4 at 3:00 p.m. as the Lasers host Albertus Magnus and the AMCATS face Norwich.