CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Both the men's and women's basketball teams were in action on Friday night against Husson College, but only the men were able to walk away from a victory against the Eagles. The women lost 67-51 and dropped their record to 10-11 (4-6 North Atlantic Conference) while the men improved to 7-15 (5-5 NAC) with final moments 60-59 victory over Husson.
In the women's game, Lesley's Courtnie Leakeas (Lowell, Mass.) led the way with 16 points, four rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and an assist. Freshmen Kaitlyn Wechsler (Merrick, N.Y.) and Brianne Caira (Pelham, N.H.) both contributed eight points offensively for the Lynx.
The Eagles had three players in double-figures as Jenny Rollins (Corinth, Me.) scored a game-high 20 points. Shelby Bradford (Lee, Me.) and Bethany Sevey (Skowhegan, Me.) finished with 14 and 10 points, respectively. Bradford grabbed 10 rebounds to complete the double-double.
The teams combined for 64 turnovers with each team scoring 20 points off of their opponents mistakes. Husson got major contributions off their bench as they outscored Lesley 24-10 in that category.
With the victory, the Husson women's basketball team improved their leading NAC East record to 15-8 (9-2 NAC).
In the men's game, senior Mark Stevens (Las Vegas, Nev.) nailed deep three-pointer with just 14 seconds remaining to take a one-point lead over Husson. The shot capped off a 21 point effort by the captain to go along with eight rebounds, an assist and a steal. Three other Lynx player were in double-digit points as Joe Chatman (Boston, Mass.), Jon Cruz (Haverhill, Mass.), and Malcolm Andrews (Medford, Mass.) had 10 points each. Jesus Trejo (Methuen, Mass.) worked hard on the glass as he grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.
Husson was led by Brock Bradford (Kenduskeag, Me.) who finished with 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor, including 5-of-6 from the free throw line. Nick Perras was impressive from beyond the arc as he scored 13 points, nine of which on three-pointers. Scott Kissinger (Islip Terrace, N.Y.) had nine points and eight rebounds and Matt MacKenzie (Warren, Me.) had seven points and nine rebounds in the losing effort.
With the game knotted at 24-24 going into the second half, the Lynx came out strong as they went on a 7-0 run in the first three minutes of the half. The Eagles were able to trim the lead back down to just one point and eventually took the lead. The two teams exchanged the lead 15 times in the second half until Lesley took the victory on the Stevens game-winning shot.
With the loss, the Husson men's basketball dropped to 12-10 (8-3 NAC).
To learn more about the Lesley University basketball teams, please visit their websites.