New Haven, Conn. – A late rally fell short for the Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team on Thursday night in a 94-81 setback versus Lasell in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action at The Nest inside the Cosgrove Marcus Messer Athletic Center.
The defeat snapped a 27-game conference winning streak for the Falcons, as the hosts moved to 7-2 on the year and 4-1 in league play. The Lasers netted their first triumph against Albertus Magnus since 2009 to improve to 7-4 overall and remain a perfect 4-0 in conference tilts.
Trailing by five with less than 90 seconds remaining in regulation, AMC sophomore forward Erick Langston (Stratford, Conn.) took a feed from freshman point guard Ryan Pittman (Stratford, Conn.) in the paint and scored while being fouled. Langston converted the old fashion three-point play to bring the Falcons to within two at 83-81.
Over the final 1:14, Lasell outscored Albertus, 11-0, beginning with a trey from sophomore guard Scott Arsenault and finishing with a pair of free throws from senior forward Pat Marchand to escape with the victoy. Following Arsenault's shot from the beyond the arc, the Falcons missed their final four shots of the contest, three of which were from three-point range.
Albertus Magnus opened the game on an 11-4 run over the first three and a half minutes capped by a trey from sophomore forward Jaqhawn Walters (Hartford, Conn.). Two minutes later, Lasell would come charging back to tie the game and take a three-point edge at 14-11 thanks to back-to-back three-pointers from Arsenault. The two squads traded buckets for the next 10 minutes as a free throw from freshman forward Shonteay Lovell (Brooklyn, N.Y.) gave the hosts a one-point lead at 32-31. The visitors closed the opening half on a 9-6 run to take a 40-38 advantage into the break.
During the second half, Albertus Magnus tied the contest with 18:51 left in regulation courtesy of lay up from senior wing Marc Wilson (Jersey City, N.J.). From there, the Lasers would take the lead on the ensuing possession and never relinquish it.
Wilson led a balanced attack for Albertus Magnus and was one of five Falcons to register double figures. The 6-3 guard scored a team-best 15 points, while Walters recorded his second straight double-double courtesy of a 14 point, 11 rebound performance. Lovell continued his strong freshman campaign, notching another double-double after scoring 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds.
All five starters scored in double figures for Lasell with junior guard Armin Omanovic leading the charge with a game-high 24 points courtesy of going 9-of-12 from the charity stripe. Both of the Laser bigs had solid contests, as Marchand and Logan Liberty each recorded double-doubles. Marchand had 21 points and a game-high 15 rebounds, while Liberty added 10 points and 13 boards.
The back-and-forth contest saw four ties and 11 lead changes. The largest edge of the game for Albertus was seven and came early in the first half and the biggest advantage in the tilt came with at the final horn for the guests.
On the stat sheet, Albertus Magnus shot just under 44 percent from the field, while Lasell knocked down 47 percent of its shots. The visitors held a 52-41 advantage on the boards, marking just the second time this winter the Falcons have been outrebounded. AMC doubled up the Lasers in fastbreak points (18-9) and also outscored the guests, 52-42, in the paint. From three-point range, Lasell hit 9-of-24 attempts comparted to the hosts hitting 4-of-14. The physical contest saw 46 fouls called and two Falcons foul out.
The Falcons last regular season lost in conference play came on the road in February of the 2013-14 season.
Albertus Magnus returns to action on Saturday, January 9, with a road conference clash versus Saint Joseph's (Maine). The Falcons enter this weekend's tilt riding a four-game winning streak against the Monks.
For the latest information on the men's basketball team and Albertus Magnus athletics, follow AMCAthletics on Twitter and visit AlbertusFalcons.com.
