MBK: Lasell edged by Regis; Laser rally comes up short

WESTON, Mass. – Regis College capitalized on a 12-0 run over a two-minute stretch in the second half Wednesday evening to capture a 95-91 victory over Lasell University in a non-conference men's basketball game at Higgins Court.

Lasell pulled ahead 64-63 with nine minutes remaining but the Pride scored 12 straight points to surge ahead 75-64 just two minutes later. The Lasers answered with six straight points of their own to pull to within five points, 75-70, but that's as close as they would get until the closing seconds before Regis closed out the win.

Senior Stefan Masciarelli (Northbridge, Mass.) shot 13-of-23 from the field for Lasell to lead all players with 31 points, plus he dished out five assists. Junior Kevin Vanderhorst (Lawrence, Mass.) notched a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds, classmate Kevin Nunez (Dorchester, Mass.) hit 6-of-7 shots from the field and all six free throw attempts to finish with 18 points, and sophomore EJ Day (Norwalk, Conn.) added 16 points off the Laser bench.

Five players reached double figures in scoring for the Pride, led by Devante Thompson (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) with 20 points. Juvens Dalger (Oakland Park, Fla.) finished with 17 points and a team-high seven rebounds, while Dimitri Rosa (Tiverton, R.I.) hit five three-pointers as he scored 17 points. Marc Trinidad (Bronx, N.Y.) collected 15 points and five rebounds, and Jalil Wilkerson (New Haven, Conn.) contributed 11 points, four rebounds, and three assists off the bench.

Masciarelli scored Lasell's first seven points of the game as the Lasers took an 11-5 lead three minutes in. Regis scored the next six points to tie the game at 11-11, one of 12 ties during the night, but Lasell answered later in the first half with six unanswered points, starting with consecutive layups by Vanderhorst.

Down 22-17, Regis quickly tied the game on a three-pointer by Thompson and a jumper from Josh Germain (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), who also dished out a game-high seven assists. The lead kept going back and forth, with the Pride pulling ahead on a jumper by Wilkerson before the Lasers scored the final three points of the first half on two free throws by Masciarelli and one free throw from Day to put the visitors ahead at halftime, 40-39.

Masciarelli opened the second half with a jumper, but Regis took the lead by scoring eight unanswered points on three-pointers by Dalger and Rosa as well as a layup by Trinidad. Lasell kept battling, eventually retaking the lead midway through the second half after scoring six straight points, capped by a jumper from Day.

The Pride took the lead for good on the 12-0 scoring run over the next two minutes, starting with five straight points from Rosa and featuring five points from Thompson. The Lasers closed to within five with 6:12 remaining in the second half, but Regis put the game away on back-to-back three-pointers by Rosa and Dalger.

Lasell shot 58.6 percent (34-of-58) from the field, including 7-of-15 from behind the three-point line, and 76.2 percent (16-of-21) from the free throw line. The Lasers enjoyed a slight rebounding edge, 33-30, but their downfall was committing 17 turnovers that led to 22 Regis points.

As a team, the Pride shot 51.5 percent (35-of-68) from the field, including 61.3 percent (19-of-31) in the second half. Regis tied the single-game team record with 14 made three-pointers as it earned the highest three-point field goal percentage of the season at 53.8 percent (14-of-26).

Lasell opens Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play this Saturday, January 18, at Emmanuel College in Boston starting at 1 p.m. The Lasers will host a rematch with the Pride, this time in a GNAC contest, in two weeks on Jan. 29 beginning at 7 p.m.

Regis heads to Nashua, N.H., to face Rivier University in a league matchup Saturday, Jan. 18, starting at 3 p.m.

(Courtesy of Regis Sports Information)

-- 30 --