NEWTOWN, Mass. – The Suffolk men's basketball team hung with league leader Lasell over the first 20 minutes, but could not quiet the Lasers in the second as the Rams fell, 86-63, Saturday afternoon at the Athletic center.
THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 63, Lasell 86
RECORDS: Suffolk (4-10, 3-4 GNAC) | Lasell (10-5, 6-1 GNAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk's Michael Hagopian traded hoops with the Lasers to get things going before Lasell jumped ahead, 9-4. Jeff Juron took a timeout to break up the stretch and it worked as Hagopian came out of the huddle and connected on a triple to cut the deficit to two. At the time, the sophomore guard had all of the Rams' seven points.
Cameron Powers locked the contest at 9-9 with 14:30 remaining in the half, before a see-saw affair ensued. For every hoop Suffolk put away Lasell had an answer to hold a one-possession edge over the visitors until a Jonathan Eng triple was followed by a good hoop from Austin Prevost to even the score at 17 at the 7:23 minute mark.
With less than five minutes remaining in the half, the Lasers found their rhythm to gain a nine-point advantage. Hagopian rallied the Rams once again to break up the spurt, but the hosts went ahead by as many as 12 with 2:01 to play in the frame. Three's from Warfa Abdillahi and Kevin Querusio shaved Lasell's double digit lead to just seven after the first 20 minutes.
After Lasell traded a hoop with a three from Jim Djema the hosts rallied out of a timeout, storming to a 14-point edge. Powers broke up the stretch and boosted the Rams on an 8-2 run that cut the margin to six. It turned into the Lasers show from there with Lasell scoring 11 unanswered points to take a 59-42 lead that blossomed to a 72-48 advantage with 8:12 on the clock.
The Rams could not break up the Lasers momentum down the stretch as Lasell stymied any type of Suffolk comeback to take an 86-63 triumph.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- Hagopian finished the day with a team-high 19 points, shooting 42.9 percent (3-7) from three-point range and 38.9 from the floor. The sophomore added a team-best four boards and two assists.
- Eng was second on the squad with 10 points on a 4-for-10 performance to go with one carom and one steal.
- Abdillahi contributed an eight-point effort in 11 minutes of action on a 3-for-4 performance from the field and 2-for-3 showing from long range. He added two rebounds to his day.
- Powers also notched eight points on a 3-for-4 connection rate from the floor.
- Suffolk shot 41.4 percent (24-58) from the floor, 44.0 percent (11-25) from behind-the-arc and 66.7 percent (4-6) from the line.
- The Rams were outrebounded by the Lasers, 44-20.
NOTEABLES
- Thomas Duffy made his first collegiate start.
- Abdillahi's eight points were a career-high for the sophomore.
- Prevost put in a career-best three points.
POST-GAME PIC
WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk remains on the road Tuesday, Jan. 17 when it pays a visit to Norwich for a 7 p.m. game.