Lasell Men’s Basketball rallies past Mount Ida

NEWTON, Mass. -- Sophomore Stefan Masciarelli (Northbridge, Mass) scored 34 points Saturday afternoon as Lasell College rallied from a 16-point second-half deficit to defeat Mount Ida College, 96-93, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball game at the Lasell Athletic Center.

Masciarelli connected on 14-of-22 shots from the field, including 3-of-5 from three-point range, for his second straight 30-point effort, following a 36-point game Wednesday in a win at Anna Maria College. Junior Tim Blair (Newington, Conn) added 22 points and nine rebounds, including five three-point baskets, and freshman Liam Jacobs (Plainfield, Conn.) chipped in with 15 points and eight boards off the Laser bench.

Lasell improves to 2-0 in the GNAC (4-7 overall) while Mount Ida drops to 7-4 overall and 1-1 in conference play. The Lasers won at home for the first time in six tries this season.

Senior Joey DeFillippi (Bristol, Conn.) led a contingent of five Mustangs who scored in double figures, finishing with 20 points. Seniors Errald Jordine (Stamford, Conn.) and Jayson Clark (Austin, Texas) followed with 18 points apiece, both matching DeFillippi with four three-point baskets. Junior Dennis Ross (Portland, Maine) added 11 points off the bench and freshman Kevin Nunez (Dorchester, Mass.) finished with 10 points.

Mount Ida controlled the lead in the first half after scoring the first nine points of the game. The Mustangs led by as many as 14 points (26-12) after Jordine's three-pointer with 12:45 on the clock, and by 16 (41-25) after a Clark layup with 5:29 remaining. The visitors led by double-digits (51-41) at the intermission despite 14 points apiece from Lasell's Masciarelli and Blair.

The Mustangs had their largest lead of the second half with a 16-point margin (66-50) following a traditional three-point play by Nunez with 15 minutes remaining before the Lasers battled back. Masciarelli scored 10 points in a two-minute stretch as Lasell cut the deficit to nine points (69-60), and a pair of baskets by Blair brought the home team to within four points (74-70) with 10:38 on the clock. Lasell took its first lead, 77-76, on a Masciarelli bucket with nine minutes to play.

The game stayed within five points the rest of the way, and the Mustangs tied the score at 91-all with 1:38 to play on a pair of free throws by Jordine. Jacobs hit a key basket for Lasell with 1:26 to play and put the Lasers ahead for good, 95-93, with a jumper with 37 seconds on the clock. Mount Ida had two chances to tie it up in the closing seconds but missed a three-pointer and committed a turnover.

Lasell shot 55 percent from the field in the game while Mount Ida shot just 42 percent. The Lasers were just 5-of-11 from the free throw line while the Mustangs were 15-of-21 from the stripe.

Lasell is home again on Thursday (Jan. 11), hosting Emmanuel College in a GNAC contest at 7:00 p.m. Mount Ida is back in action Tuesday (Jan. 9), visiting Albertus Magnus College for a 7:00 p.m. GNAC matchup.

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