NEWTON, Mass. — The Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team lost its first Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) game of the season on Saturday, falling to Lasell University, 86-73. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak.

Ta'Zhon Daniels (New Haven, Conn.) led four Falcons in double figures with 16 points. Malcolm Duncanson (West Haven, Conn.) had 12 points, four rebounds and five steals, while Jayquan Kirkland (Stratford, Conn.) had 12 points, and Kevin Crawford (Bridgeport, Conn.), 11 off the bench.

Deivone Tanksley (Hartford, Conn.) finished with 12 rebounds to go with seven points and Avery Hinnant (Naugatuck, Conn.) had nine points with 10 rebounds.

THE BASICS

FINAL: Lasell 86 | Albertus 73

RECORDS: Albertus (6-8, 2-1 GNAC) | Lasell (10-4, 3-0 GNAC)

BOX

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Lasers came out and set the tone early as they were able to open a 13-4 advantage in the first five minutes of the game behind six points from Marcus Lewis.
• The Falcons then established momentum of their own as they methodically chipped at the Laser lead and completely erased the once 15-point deficit after a 19-3 run, eventually taking a 27-26 with 3:27 left. Rodrick Pearson (Hartford, Conn.) ignited the scoring stretch for Albertus off an offensive board and made layup to cut the deficit, 23-10, at 11:37. On the next possession, Pearson grabbed another offensive board before passing it to Daniels, who then quickly offloaded the ball to Kirkland just beyond the arc for the three-point jumper to narrow the hosts lead to within 10. Malcolm Duncanson then scored five of the next ten points for Albertus to cut its deficit to 26-23. After a miss on ther other end, Kirkland grabbed a rebound and hit a three to tie the game, 26-26. Kevin Crawford would give Albertus the lead with a free throw.
• After being down a basket with 46 seconds on the clock, Duncanson drove to the hoop for a layup through traffic to knot the game, 33-33, before heading into the locker room.
• Duncanson scored the first four points for Albertus in the second half as the game remained a two-possession affair over the first six minutes.
• A jumper from Daniels cut the Lasell lead to 49-45, but an 11-4 run by the Lasers, including four points from Lewis and a three from Esmer Madesko made it a 60-49 game with 10:29 remaining. 
• Over the next 4:29, seven points from Daniels and four points by both Kirkland and Crawford made it a 69-65 game with six minutes left.
• A series of stops and buckets gave the Lasers back their double-digit lead which they would hold onto the rest of the way.

TEAM STATS

Albertus

36.4 FG% | 14.3 3PT% | 60.9 FT% 

Lasell

51.8 FG% | 42.9 3PT% | 70.4 FT% 

LEADERS

Albertus

Ta'zhon Daniels 16 Points | 2 Rebounds | 2 Assists

Malcolm Duncanson 12 Points | 5 Steals | 4 Rebounds | 1 Assist

Jayquan Kirkland 12 Points

Kevin Crawford 11 Points | 5 Rebounds

Lasell

Marcus Lewis 23 Points | 10 Rebounds | 2 Assists

Che Hanks 18 Points | 5-8 FG

Andy Madesko 10 Points | 12 Rebounds | 5 Assists | 2 Assists

NOTEWORTHY

• Daniels has five straight games in double figures.
• Duncanson posted a career-best five steals.
• Tanksley notched his seventh game this season with 10 or more rebounds, while Hinnat recorded double figures in rebounds for the second time. 

UP NEXT

Albertus returns to The Nest for a GNAC matchup against in-state foe Mitchell College on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.