With a 92-70 victory over Lasell College, the No. 15 Albertus Magnus men's basketball team has earned the right to play for the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Tournament title on Saturday, Feb. 25. The Falcons will host Anna Maria College at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday in the championship game.
With a 22-point win in tonight's semifinal match-up, the Falcons will play in their second title game in the last three years.
Ray Askew (Hamden, Conn.) led the way for Albertus in tonight's win as he tallied 21 points and pulled down 12 rebounds as the Falcons won their 21st-consecutive game. In tonight's contest, Askew became the program's all-time scoring leader, surpassing Tim Russell's '05 mark of 2,234 career points. Askew, who is the all-time leading rebounder in both school and conference history, now has 2,244 points in his career.
Darius Watson (New Britain, Conn.) added 11 points for the top-seeded Falcons as they improved to 26-1 on the year. Lasell finishes out the year with a 13-14 overall record after tallying an 11-7 record in conference play during the regular season.
Albertus trailed for the opening 7:47 of tonight's contest before tying the game at 17 at the 12:13 mark of the first half. After the Lasers took a 26-22 lead, the Falcons answered back with a 14-0 run to take a 10-point lead at 36-26. During that run, Askew's record-breaking three-pointer at the 5:27 mark of the frame gave the Falcons their first lead of the night at 27-26.
Lasell scored just seven points in the final nine minutes of the first half as they were held without a field goal during that time span until Sean Bertanza connected on a jumper with 27 seconds left on the clock. Albertus out-rebounded the Lasers 28-12 in the first frame led by nine boards from Askew. Askew led all scorers with 16 first-half points as the Falcons shot 52.9-percent from the floor and 50-percent from behind the arc.
The Falcons controlled the second half and shot 51.7-percent from the field, including a 4-of-5 clip from behind the arc. On the night, the Falcons out-rebounded the Lasers 49-29 as Albertus led by as much as 31 points with 6:19 remaining in the contest.
Jefferson Lora (Bronx, N.Y.) recorded his third double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Zach Dugas (Monroe, Conn.) tallied a career-high 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor.
Arshad Jackson (Hartford, Conn.) added his first double-double of the season as he finished the night with 11 points and career-high 10 assists in 35 minutes of work.
Lasell was led by Javon Williams, who scored 20 points and grabbed six rebounds, while Sean Bertanza tallied 14 points for the Lasers.
Saturday's final will be free of charge for all fans.