NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team concluded the 2022-23 regular season with a hard-fought 89-84 victory over Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) foe the Lasers of Lasell University Saturday afternoon on Senior Day.

Prior to tip-off, the Albertus Magnus men's basketball team honored its three-member senior class - Jacqual Gertrude Jersey City, N.J., Robby Simmons (Hartford, Conn.), and Justice Washington (Hamden, Conn.) - for their hard work and dedication to the program over their tenure with the Falcons. 

Graduate student Terry Dawkins (Bronx, N.Y.) led the blue-and-white with a 27-point showing, while Kevin Crawford (Bridgeport, Conn.) chipped in 13 points. Junior Antonio Bonilla (Tenafly, N.J.) led the Falcons from beyond the arc, scoring 12 points on four three-pointers. Tazhon Daniels (New Haven, Conn.) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points to go along with a rebound and two steals.      

THE BASICS
Final: Albertus Magnus 89 | Lasell 84         
Records: Albertus Magnus (16-9, 14-4 GNAC) | Lasell (12-13, 9-9 GNAC) 
Box Score

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Lasers came out with the hot hand and opened regulation with the early 8-2 lead over the first 1:52 of play. 
• Following a defensive battle, AMC's Dawkins put in a lay-up to cut the deficit to four, before Lasell countered with a made three to make it an 11-4 game. 
• The teams traded baskets until the 12:03 mark, when Bonilla sent a shot from downtown swooshing through the mesh to cut Albertus' deficit to four, 17-13. 
• Albertus continued to rally, putting together a 5-0 run on a traditional three-point play from Dawkins and a made lay-up from Malcolm Duncanson (West Haven, Conn.) to take the one-point lead, 18-17, with just under 10 minutes left in the first half. 
• AMC didn't let up, storming ahead with a blistering 10-2 run that saw four points from Dawkins and two each from Jeyson Slade (Stamford, Conn.), Justice Washington (Hamden, Conn.), and Jacqual Gertrude (Jersey City, N.J.), to take a commanding 28-19 lead. 
• Lasell retaliated with a 6-0 run to trim the margin to three, 28-25 before a Dawkins lay-up at the 5:12 mark halted the run and made it a 30-25 game. 
• Lasell battled back with a 5-2 surge to make it a 32-30 game before Albertus pumped the gas and raced ahead with a 7-2 run to bring the score to 39-32. 
• The Lasers put together a 4-0 run before a 6-1 run from the Falcons pushed the score to 45-37 with just over a minute remaining in the half.    
• The teams traded baskets to close out the half, with the Falcons holding the 47-41 lead heading into the break. 
• Out of the break, Lasell put together a 10-4 run to tie the game at 51-all with 14:24 remaining in the contest. 
• A 4-0 Lasell spurt was immediately countered by a 4-0 Albertus run to re-tie the game at 55-all, with Bonilla nailing a three-point jumper at the 11:58 mark. 
• Following the ties, the Falcons roared ahead with a 13-0 run that saw a pair of made three-pointers from Bonilla and four points from Crawford to give the Falcons the 68-55 advantage. 
• Lasell regrouped and put together a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to six, 70-64, with seven minutes left in regulation. 
• The Lasers continued to bring the pressure, creating a 7-3 run that shrank the deficit to 73-71. 
• A three-point jumper from Tazhon Daniels (New Haven, Conn.) sparked a 10-2 Falcon run that pushed the host's advantage to 83-73. 
• The Lasers did not go quietly, nailing back-to-back three-pointers to shrink the deficit to four, 83-79, with 1:22 left on the clock. 
• A pair of made free throws from Daniels expanded the lead to six before Lasell created a 5-0 run to shrink the deficit to one, 85-84, with 28 seconds remaining. 
• Albertus regained offensive momentum and closed the game with a 4-0 push to capture the 89-84 conference victory over the Lasers.       

TEAM STATS
Albertus: 45.5% FG | 30.0% 3PT | 82.1% FT
Lasell: 52.0% FG | 52.2% 3PT | 69.0% FT 

PLAYER HIGHLIGHTS

Albertus:
Terry Dawkins- 27 points (8-12 FG, 11-12 FT) | 9 rebounds | 1 assist | 3 steals
Kevin Crawford- 13 points (4-6 FG, 0-1 3PT, 5-8 FT) | 3 rebounds | 2 assists | 2 steals | 2 blocks    
Antonio Bonilla- 12 points (4-7 FG, 4-6 3PT) | 3 rebounds    

Lasell:
EJ Day- 38 points (11-20 FG, 4-7 3PT, 12-15 FT) | 3 rebounds | 8 assists | 3 steals 
Conan McCusker- 17 points (5-7 FG, 4-5 3PT, 3-4 FT) | 1 rebound | 2 assists  

NOTEWORTHY

• Today's game marked the 35th all-time meeting between the Falcons and the Lasers.
• After this afternoon's win, Albertus leads the all-time series 28-7. 
• Dawkins scored 20+ points for the eighth time this season. 
• Crawford tallied 10+ points for the fourth time this season. 
• Washington secured 10+ rebounds for the 12th game this season.  

UP NEXT

The Falcons now look ahead to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament, which is slated to begin on Tuesday, Feb. 21st. The Falcons clinched the number two seed in the South Division and will open the GNAC Tournament play with a 7:30PM home battle against the Chargers of Colby-Sawyer College.  

Tuesday, February 21 - QUARTERFINALS
GAME 1: #4S JWU at #1N Emmanuel - 5:30PM
GAME 2: #3N Colby-Sawyer at #2S Albertus Magnus - 7:30PM
GAME 3: #3S Regis at #2N Saint Joseph's Maine - 7:30PM
GAME 4: #4N Anna Maria at #1S St. Joseph CT - 7:00PM

Thursday, February 23 - SEMIFINALS
GAME 5: Game 1 winner vs Game 2 winner
GAME 6: Game 3 winner vs Game 4 winner

Saturday, February 25 - CHAMPIONSHIP
GAME 7: at highest remaining seed