CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Lesley University ran their winning streak to three games following a 90-74 win over Newbury College in New England Collegiate Conference Men's Basketball action tonight at the Nicholas Athletics Center. The Lynx, now 6-2 since the start of the New Year, improve to 12-5 on the season and 6-2 in the NECC standings while the Nighthawks slip to 1-12 overall and 1-6 in the conference.
Lesley was led by senior Devon Mayo (Newport News, Va.) who dropped a team-best 22 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor and 8-of-9 from the free throw line. Tonight marked the 11th straight game Mayo has finished in double-figures. Sophomore Joey Martin (Melbourne, Fla.) knocked down four three's on his way to 18 points while corralling a team-high seven rebounds and classmate Xeo Golding (Windermere, Fla.) finished with 14. Junior Marquise Johnson (Hampton, Va.) added 11 points, four rebounds, and four assists and freshman LaMarr Mitchell (Baltimore, Md.) came off the bench for ten points.
Junior Jeduan Langston (Roxbury, Mass.) posted a double-double with 24 points and 11 rebounds to go with four dimes to lead the Nighthawks. Senior Joshua Oliver (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) added 15 points in 18 minutes of reserve duty while fellow junior Daivon Edwards (Roxbury, Mass.) added 13. Classmate Ato Botsio (Canton, Mass.) finished with ten points.
Lesley enjoyed a hot-shooting night where they finished 51% (31-of-61) from the floor, including an even 50% (12-of-24) from beyond the arc, while holding Newbury to 37% (26-of-70) on the evening. The Lynx came one rebound shy of their season-high, edging the Nighthawks on the glass by a 47-35 margin while also holding the advantage at the foul line as they converted at a 69% (20-of-29) clip compared to Newbury's 68% (12-of-18).
The Lynx gained control early as Martin fueled an 8-0 run with a trey and a layup to open up a 25-10 advantage at the midway point of the first half. The Nighthawks would respond and start to chip away and pulled to within three, 32-29, over the next nine minutes of play following a 19-7 spurt that was capped by a Edwards triple. Lesley would score the final four points of the first and head into the locker room leading 36-29.
Golding and Mayo came out of the break hot and quickly pushed their advantage to 13, 44-31, in the opening 1:43 of the second half. Mayo finished off an old-fashioned three-point play before Golding capped the 8-2 burst with a connecting from deep on a feed from Mayo.
Newbury would cut the deficit to nine points in the second, but each time Lesley would have an answer. Martin would ignite another big run for the Lynx as he drained three from deep in a 1:10 span to give the Lynx a 16 point lead. Lesley would expand their lead to as many as 26 on their way to the season-series sweep of the Nighthawks.
Both sides will return to NECC action on Saturday. Lesley will travel to Nashua, N.H. for their second matchup in just five days with Daniel Webster College at 3:00p. The Lynx downed the Eagles 80-65 on Tuesday in Cambridge. Newbury will head to nearby Wheelock College for a bout with the Wildcats at 2:00p.