THE BASICS 

Score: 
Emmanuel 70 – Lasell 73

Records: 
Emmanuel College Saints (7-3, 3-1 GNAC)
Lasell University Lasers (6-3, 3-0 GNAC)

Location: Newton, Mass. – Lasell Athletic Center

Date: Thursday, January 6, 2022

THE LEAD – Lasell University used an 11-0 run midway through the second half to power past visiting Emmanuel College, 73-70, Thursday evening in Great Northeast Athletic Conference men's basketball action in Newton, Mass.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• With just over eight minutes to play in a one-point game, the Lasers reeled off 11 straight points to build a 67-55 advantage following an EJ Day (Norwalk, Conn.) bucket with 3:34 left in regulation.  
• Emmanuel battled to the end to make it a one-possession game with a three at the buzzer by sophomore guard Donte Pope (Middletown, Conn.) but it was not enough as the hosts walked away with the 73-70 GNAC victory.
• Both squads got off to a slow start before Emmanuel hit its stride midway through the first half to build a 19-12 lead with 7:17 to play following back to back triples from sophomore Ryan Grijalva (Stratham, N.H.).
• Day answered with a deep pull-up three in transition to spark a 12-2 run by the Lasers to give the hosts a 24-21 advantage with 3:37 remaining in the half before the Saints closed the opening stanza with an 11-6 spurt to take a 32-30 lead into halftime.
• LU center Johnathan Friberg (North Attleboro, Mass.) led all scorers at the break with 10 points.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Day led all scorers, matching his season-high with a 28 point performance while Friberg and Kevin Nunez (Dorchester, Mass.) each added 16 points.
• In his first game back since opening weekend, EC sophomore guard Bryant Ciccio (Attleboro, Mass.) dropped a career-high 19 points, going 11-of-12 from the free throw line while Pope added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the double-double.
• LU graduate student Kevin Vanderhorst (Lawrence, Mass.) grabbed a game-high 18 rebounds in the win despite the Lasers getting out-rebounded by the Saints 47-39 on the night.
• A total of 44 fouls were called in the action resulting in a combined 50 free throws.

UP NEXT

• The Saints return home for the first game in nearly a month on Saturday, January 8 in a GNAC tilt vs. Saint Joseph's (ME) at 1:00 PM.
• The Lasers travel to Norwich for a GNAC tip with the Cadets on Jan. 8 at 3:00 p.m.