Men’s Hoops Drops GNAC Opener to Lasell, 69-68

THE BASICS 

Score: Lasell University, 69; Emmanuel College, 68

Records: Lasell University Lasers (4-11, 1-0 GNAC); Emmanuel College Saints (12-3, 0-1 GNAC)

Location: Boston, Mass. – Andy Yosinoff Court

Date: Saturday, January 18^th, 2020

THE LEAD: Lasell University's Eric Day (Norwalk, Conn.) and Jonathon Friberg (North Attleboro, Mass.) combined for 44 points in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference victory over the Saints of Emmanuel College on Saturday, January 18^th, 69-68.

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• Through the first six minutes of play, turnovers for both teams were frequent allowing for no rhythm on the offensive side of the ball. Lasell's Eric Day (Norwalk, Conn.) and Keith Poitier (Hartford, Conn.) were able to connect on a pair of three-pointers to take the lead, 14-11, but EC's Marcus Fox (Danbury, Conn.) controlled the paint for the Saints to take the lead back with eight remaining in the half, 17-16.
• Lasell pulled away to a three-point lead as Day collected six points in a row for the Lasers with five in the half remaining. Day continued to dominate with assists and made baskets through the remainder of the half, but EC was able to take the lead going into the half from an offensive rebound turned layup by Devin Pulsifer (Winthrop, Mass.), 31-30.
• EC came out of the half with a spark as Gio Ciampa (Tewksbury, Mass.) extended the lead to six on a three-point field goal, but Jonathon Friberg (North Attleboro, Mass.) utilized his size to score eight points for the Lasers in the paint, heading into the final ten minutes of regulation behind the Saints, 48-45.
• Junior guards Zachary Crisafulli (Easthampton, Mass.) and Jack Moulder (Newtown, Conn.) worked in tandem to move the Saints ahead by eight, 58-50, with five and a half left in regulation, but Lasell pushed back to a two-point deficit thanks to sharp-shooting from the foul line, tying the game at 62 with two minutes remaining.
• With 24 seconds remaining in regulation, Day connected on a fade away three-pointer with only seven left on the shot clock to take the lead, 67-66. The Saints moved down the floor, led by Emmett Riddick (Middletown, Conn.) who was able to feed the ball to Fox who then drew the foul to get to the free-throw line, sinking both. After a timeout by Lasell, Day sprinted the court to finish the game off with a baseline jumper to cement the victory for the Lasers, 69-68.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Friberg of Lasell finished the day with a game-high double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while game winning Day was close behind with 20 points and six rebounds.
• Fox finished the afternoon one rebound short of a double-double with a team-high 18 points and nine rebounds.

UP NEXT

• Lasell will be looking for their second Great Northeast Athletic Conference victory on Tuesday, January 21^st on the road at Norwich University at 5:30PM.
• EC heads on the road on Tuesday, January 21^st to Providence, R.I. to face Johnson & Wales University in a 7PM GNAC matchup.