CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Newbury College outscored Lesley University 38-19 in the second half to power the Nighthawks to a 69-52 win in New England Collegiate Conference action tonight at the Nicholas Athletic Center. Newbury improves to 2-13 overall and 1-6 in NECC play while the loss drops Lesley to 2-13 on the year and 2-5 in conference games.
Senior Cameron Owen (Concord, N.H.) paced four Nighthawks in double-figures as he finished with a game-high 17 points and registered his first double-double of the season as he pulled down a game-best 12 boards. Classmate Kwame Thompson (Brockton, Mass.) recorded 14 points while fellow senior Mills Carrasco (Haverhill, Mass.) knocked down a pair of triples on the night on his way to 11 points. Carrasco finished one rebound shy of a double-double as he corralled eight caroms. Sophomore Kenny Ramos (Roxbury, Mass.) was the fourth Nighthawk to finish in double-digits as he finished with 11 points.
Lesley senior Justin Rosa (East Brunswick, N.J.) paced the Lynx attack with 16 points, five rebounds, three steals, and a pair of assists while junior Corbin Polec (Okemos, Mich.) added nine points and six boards. Sophomore Jacob DiDomenico (N. Providence, R.I.) came off the bench to added ten points and six rebounds while Chris Barletta (Valrico, Fla.) and Terrell Toney (Lakewood, Wash.) each added six points. Barletta added a pair of steals, four rebounds, and a game-high four assists to his line on the night.
Carrasco opened the game with a three from the corner to put the Nighthawks up 3-0 early on, but the Lynx answered with a 15-2 run to take a 15-5 edge over the first eight minutes of action.
Newbury would claw right back into it as a 15-7 spark brought them to within two over the next three minutes of play. Owen powered the run as he knocked down two of his three triples during the stretch.
The Nighthawks would use the long ball to jump ahead 31-27 with 3:47 to go following back-to-back three-balls from Joshua Oliver (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) and Jeremiah Ephraim (Norwood, Mass.).
Lesley's defense would lock down in the final minutes of the half, forcing Newbury to miss their final five while sinking six straight points to take a 33-31 edge into the locker room. DiDomenico powered the run as he scored the first four points before Rosa capped it with a layup following a Nighthawk turnover.
Newbury wasted little time in taking a lead in the second half and once again Carrasco hit one from deep in the corner that sparked a 17-2 run over the first six minutes of action as the visitors took a commanding 48-35 lead. The Nighthawk lead grew as big as 26 points in a dominating second half effort that limited the Lynx to just 19 points.
Lesley held a 19-13 edge in turnovers, but Newbury held a 50-37 rebounding advantage over the Lynx and out-shot their hosts 40-percent (24-of-60) to 27-percent (18-of-66).
Lesley will return to the court when they travel to Nashua, N.H. on Saturday to battle Daniel Webster College at 1:00p. Newbury will also be back in action on Saturday as they travel to Wheelock College at 3:00p.