Late Second Half Surge Leads Falcons Past Lasell

Link: BOX SCORE

Newton, Mass. - The Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team overcame a four-point deficit at the half to claim a 98-93 road win over Lasell College in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) showdown Saturday evening inside the Lasell Athletic Center. 

THE BASICS
FINAL: Albertus Magnus College 98 | Lasell College 93
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (15-7, 7-2) | Lasell (6-17, 4-5)
ALL-TIME SERIES: Albertus extends its all-time series record to 21-6 against the Lasers.

HIGHLIGHTS

• On the road, Albertus is 10-3 against the Lasers.
• With today's win, Coach Oliver is four wins shy of winning his 250th career win.
• Following today's five-point performance, senior Ryan Pittman (Stratford, Conn.) is now 83 points away from scoring his 1,000th career point.
• Pittman will be the 16th player in program history to join the 1,000th-point club.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half:

• Albertus controlled the opening three minutes of play by taking a commanding 13-4 lead highlighted by eight points from Tyreek Perkins (New Haven, Conn.).
• Lasell managed to cut the deficit to four, 13-9, on a three from Dylan Murray.
• Midway through the first, Albertus found themselves up six, 21-15, following three straight points from Liam Perryman (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.).
• However, over the next five minutes of play, Lasell rallied back forcing two ties (23-23, 25-25), but the Falcons remained on top, 31-27, with 8:20 remaining.
• Albertus and Lasell continued to fight battling through five ties (36-36, 37-37, 38-38, 41-41, 43-43) until an 7-3 run put the Lasers ahead 50-46 at the half.

Second Half:

• Lasell continued its run into the second extending its lead to six, 52-46, following a made layup from Vic Colliazo, but a short spurt by the Falcons cut the hosts' lead to one, 55-54.
• Down 71-65 with 12:23 remaining, three points from Damian Grant (Waterbury, Conn.) and two from Ryan Pittman (Stratford, Conn.) brought the Falcons to within two, 71-69.
• Following two ties forced by the Falcons, Lasell remained in control on offense and never relinquished its lead until the 3:52 mark as a layup from Andrew Rice (New Haven, Conn.) gave the Falcons their first lead since the 1:21 mark in the first.
• From that point, Albertus was able to hold on to the lead to secure the GNAC win.

KEY PERFORMANCES
Albertus:

• Tyreek Perkins – 19 Points (6-10 FG, 3-4 3PT, 4-7 FT) | 4 rebounds | 1 assist  
• Davon Warner (New Haven, Conn.) – 17 Points (7-13 FG, 3-7 3PT) | 1 rebound | 2 steals
• Damian Grant – 16 Points (7-11 FG, 1-1 3PT, 1-3 FT) | 5 rebounds | 1 steal
• Jahmerikah Green-Younger (Norwalk, Conn.) – 14 points (3-13 FG, 1-3 3PT, 7-7 FT) | 1 rebound | 1 steal

Lasell:

• Stefan Masciarelli – 28 Points | 5 rebounds | 6 assists | 3 steals
• Dylan Murray – 26 Points | 5 rebounds | 1 steal
• Liam Jacobs – 14 points | 5 rebounds | 1 assist
• Kevin Nunez – 11 points | 6 rebounds

UP NEXT
Albertus returns home on Tuesday, Feb. 12 as the Falcons host GNAC foe Johnson & Wales University. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. at "The Nest".