Lasell Men’s Basketball nips Mount Ida

NEWTON, Mass. – Senior Scott Arsenault (Walpole, Mass.) scored 15 points, including two key free throws with nine seconds remaining, to lift Lasell College to a 72-71 Great Northeast Athletic Conference men's basketball victory over Mount Ida College Saturday afternoon at the Athletic Center.

Sophomore Stefan Masciarelli (Northbridge, Mass.) added 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists in the victory for Lasell, which also received 15 points (including a trio of three-pointers) and seven boards from freshman Liam Jacobs (Plainfield, Conn.).  Senior Derek McMahon (Hatfield, Mass.) rounded out a quartet of Lasers in double figures with 13 points, four caroms and four assists, while junior Tim Blair (Newington, Conn.) chipped in with nine points, six rebounds and a pair of assists.  Senior Dannie Moore (Orlando, Fla.) grabbed six boards as well.

The Lasers shot 40 percent (23-57) from the field overall and connected for nine three-pointers on the afternoon. Lasell made all but one of its 18 free throw attempts and held a 41-39 rebounding advantage to sweep the two-game regular season series between the two schools.

The visiting Lasers (10-11, 8-4 GNAC) scored the first six points of the contest before the host Mustangs (9-12, 3-9 GNAC) responded with an 11-3 run in less than three minutes to take an early 11-9 cushion on a pair of free throws by freshman Kevin Nunez (Dorchester, Mass.).  Mount Ida built that margin to six (38-32) with 4:18 to play in the half on a lay-in by junior Dennis Ross (Portland, Maine), but Lasell closed the opening frame with a 10-4 run that was capped by a three-pointer from Jacobs to even matters (42-42) at the break. 

Arsenault sparked an 8-2 Laser run in the opening 2:50 after intermission with six points to help stake the visitors to a 50-44 edge, but the Mustangs closed back to within one (54-53) on a lay-in by senior Jayson Clark (Austin, Tex.) with 11:31 to play.  Lasell answered once again with a 9-2 run over a 2:20 stretch to take a double-digit lead (63-53) on a lay-in by McMahon, but Mount Ida responded with 10 straight points to forge the sixth and final tie of the day on Clark's lay-in with 4:56 remaining. 

Blair's jumper on the ensuing possession gave the visitors the Lasers the lead for good, as the Lasell advantage grew to five before a conventional three-point play by Clark with 10 seconds to go sliced the Mustang deficit to one (70-69).  Arsenault was fouled and made both free throws a second later to extend their visitors' lead to three, and after a last second lay-in cut the hosts' deficit to one, the Lasers inbounded the ball to midcourt to close out their triumph. 

Nunez recorded his first career double-double effort with 20 points and 10 rebounds in the setback for Mount Ida, which received 15 points, four boards, three steals and a pair of assists from Clark.  Sophomore Kevin Vanderhorst (Lawrence, Mass.) collected 12 points and three steals for the Mustangs, who received nine points, five caroms and three assists from senior Joey DeFillippi (Bristol, Conn.) along with eight points from fellow senior Jacob Sartain (West Palm Beach, Fla.).  Ross, senior John Oliver (North Babylon, N.Y.) and sophomore Mackenzie Purry (Jackson, N.J.) combined for seven points and 11 rebounds for the hosts, who shot 41 percent (28-69) from the field overall but just 2-of-16 from three-point range for the contest. 

Mount Ida travels to Northfield, Vt. on Tuesday to take on Norwich University in a GNAC clash at 7:00 p.m., while Lasell heads into Boston on Tuesday for a GNAC outing at Emmanuel College at 7:00 p.m.

(Courtesy of Mount Ida Athletic Communications)

-- 30 --