NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The No. 2-seeded Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team stormed past No. 3 Lasell University in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Semifinals by a 96-82 final score on Saturday to secure its 10th consecutive trip to the GNAC Tournament Title Game.

The Falcons employed a balanced scoring approach to defeat the Lasers, as seven different Albertus players scored in double-figures. Tyreek Perkins (New Haven, Conn.) paced AMC with 19 points, while Davon Warner (New Haven, Conn.) was one point off with 18. Terry Dawkins (Bronx, N.Y.) and Justice Washington (Hamden, Conn.) wreaked havoc in the post, as Dawkins tallied 13 points and nine rebounds, while Washington posted 12 points and a career-high 17 boards. Rob Tindley (Lawnside, N.J.), Mekhi Warren (New Haven, Conn.), and Kevin Crawford (Bridgeport, Conn.) all scored in double-figures off the bench for the Falcons.

THE BASICS
FINAL: No. 2 Albertus Magnus 96 | Lasell 82
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (17-6, 13-3 GNAC) | Lasell (15-11, 11-7 GNAC)
BOX SCORE

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

First Half:

• The Falcons stormed ahead in the game's opening minutes, taking a 12-5 lead 4:16 into the contest.
• Perkins and Dawkins accounted for nine of AMC's first 12 points.
• Albertus built its first double-digit lead at the 11:10 mark on a deep 3-pointer from Warner, his second of the opening half.
• However, the Lasers did not go down quietly, cutting their deficit to two, 30-28, with 6:28 left in the half.
• The Falcons found their footing, going on a 16-9 run to end the half to take a 46-37 lead into the break.
• Warner paced AMC in the first half with 13 points.

Second Half:

• A Perkins' and-1 layup kicked off the second half to give the home team a 49-37 lead.
• After trading baskets over the next few minutes, the Falcons added to their advantage to go ahead by 16 points, 66-50, with 12:22 remaining.
• Albertus continued to attack, taking a game-high 17-point lead, 77-60, with 7:41 left.
• Warner hit a trey to give Albertus the 17-point lead, peeling off of a screen after just checking into the game to hit a bomb from the left side of the arc.
• After going up 17, the Falcons pressed their advantage, not letting its lead dip below double-figures for the remainder of the game.
• Back-to-back dunks from Mekhi Warren (New Haven, Conn.) capped off the Falcons' 96-82 semifinal victory.

TEAM STATS
Albertus – 54.5% FG | 37.5% 3PT | 81.8% FT
Lasell – 40.8% FG | 31.3% 3PT | 51.9% FT

KEY PERFORMERS
Albertus:
Tyreek Perkins- 19 points (7-13 FG, 1-2 3PT, 4-5 FT) | 5 rebounds | 6 assists | 2 steals | 1 block
Davon Warner- 18 points (6-16 FG, 4-10 3PT, 2-2 FT) | 3 rebounds | 2 steals | 1 block
Terry Dawkins - 13 points (4-6 FG, 5-6 FT) | 9 rebounds | 5 assists
Justice Washington - 12 points (6-10 FG, 0-1 FT) | 17 rebounds | 1 assist | 4 blocks
Mekhi Warren - 12 points (6-7 FG) | 3 rebounds | 1 assist | 3 blocks
Rob Tindley- 10 points (2-6 FG, 1-3 3PT, 5-6 FT) | 2 rebounds | 3 assists | 1 steal
Kevin Crawford- 10 points (4-5 FG, 2-2 FT) | 3 rebounds | 1 assist

Lasell:
EJ Day- 45 points (15-26 FG, 7-14 3PT, 8-13 FT) | 6 rebounds | 4 assists | 2 steals
Kevin Nunez- 19 points (7-13 FG, 1-3 3PT, 4-9 FT) | 1 rebound | 4 assists
Kevin Vanderhorst- 10 points ( 4-12 FG, 1-5 3PT, 1-3 FT) | 9 rebounds | 3 assists

NOTEWORTHY

• The Falcons will make an appearance in their 10th straight GNAC Title Game.
• Albertus improves to 37-12 all time in the postseason.
• AMC has won its last seven home playoff games.
• This is the third meeting this season between the Falcons and the Lasers, with AMC holding a 2-1 advantage.
• Albertus moves to 24-7 all-time in the series.
• Washington had a career-high 17 rebounds.
• Warren tied his career-high with three blocks.
• The Falcons had a season-high seven players score in double figures.

UP NEXT
The Falcons advance to the GNAC Championship game to face the #1 seeded Blue Jays of Saint Joseph's Conn. in a Championship game rematch of 2020. Tip-off is set for 3 PM in Hartford, Conn., on Sunday, Feb. 27th, inside the O'Connell Athletic Center.