BROOKLINE, Mass. - A 14 point night from sophomore Joey Martin (Manchester, N.H.) and 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting by junior Marquise Johnson (Hampton, Va.) continued Lesley University's best start in program history with a 95-56 blowout victory over Newbury College on Thursday night in the opening tip of the NECC schedule for both teams.
The Lynx offense was on target from the get-go as they shot a season-high 60.3% - falling just shy of the program-high mark of 61.1% set just last season in a win over Mount Ida College – while scoring 51 points in the opening half. The 39-point margin of victory is the highest since defeating Thomas Collage by 37-points on February 9, 2008.
Martin led the charge from beyond the arc as he buried four from deep to go with five boards while fellow sophomore Xeo Golding (Windermere, Fla.) added a trio of three's to go for 11 points on the night. Senior Pierre St. Simon (Farmingdale, N.Y.), sophomore Charlie Reznikoff (Wilton, Conn.), freshmen LaMarr Mitchell (Baltimore, Md.) and Treyvon Trent (Virginia Beach, Va.) each added nine for the Lynx. Along with a perfect night from the field, Johnson added five assists and a game-high four steals to his line on the evening. Senior Fabrice Louissaint (Everett, Mass.) added six points and four boards off the bench.
Lesley held advantages in nearly every statistical category, outscoring the Nighthawks in the paint (46-26), fast break points (16-6), rebounds (37-30), and points from the bench (43-27). The Lynx defense was also active as they held the Nighthawks to just 37.3% shooting while causing 26 turnovers that turned into 39 points.
Nighthawks senior Joshua Oliver (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) paced the offense for the hosts, scoring 13 on 4-for-7 shooting in just 14 minutes. Juniors Ato Botsio (Canton, Mass.) and Daivon Edwards (Roxbury, Mass.) added eight points each off the bench.
The Nighthwaks managed to force 19 turnovers from the Lynx, but were not as successful in converting those turnovers into points. Oliver lead the Nighthawks with three steals. Seven other Nighthawks had at least one steal.
The Lynx will look to continue their hot start and move to 2-0 in conference play as they travel to NECC-defending champion Southern Vermont College on Saturday. Tip-off is slated for 3:00p. The conference schedule will also continue for Newbury on Saturday as they play host to Becker College, also at 3:00p.