CAMBRIDGE, MA- Lesley University fell to Regis College, 56-54, in a New England Collegiate Conference overtime thriller Saturday afternoon at the Nicholas Athletics Center.
The Lynx (3-6, 0-2 NECC) led by as many as 12 in the second half, but the Pride fought back to force overtime, where a potential game-winning three-pointer from Lesley's Mike Kaufman rattled in and out just before time expired, securing the road win for Regis (3-3, 1-1 NECC).
In what turned out to be a low scoring game, Lesley took an immediate lead after a strong offensive display in the early going. A Kaufman (Boca Raton, FL/American Heritage) bucket at 14:51 gave Lesley a six-point lead, 8-2. Osanto Marc (Kissimee, FL/Poinciana) retaliated with a layup on the ensuing possession, but a John Sanchez (Carson, CA/Saint John Bosco) jumper and a Matt Gibson (Quincy,MA/Lexington Christian) trey put the Lynx back up by 13-4 at the 13:26 mark.
The Pride went on an 11-2 run over the next four minutes, ending with an Ahmad Charles (Cambridge, MA/Cambridge Rindge & Latin) layup at the 9:12 mark to tie the score at 15-15. The Lynx regained the lead after Justin Rosa (East Brunswick,NJ/Marist High) put up five points in a one-minute span, and the lead stretched to eight by the 6:00 mark on a Gibson layup. Lesley was able to hold on to the six-point lead, going in up 30-24 at halftime.
After the half, the Lynx went up by as many as twelve points with 13:00 remaining after a Sanchez jumper from behind the arc. A pair of Jonathan Josselin (Medford,MA/Matignon) free throws and a Regis layup started a 14-4 Pride rally. Rosa hit a layup to maintain a four-point lead, 46-42, at 2:46.
However, Josselin made a layup with 1:43 remaining to cut the Lynx lead to two. Then, with 32 seconds remaining, Marc drove hard to the hoop in converting a layup to force the extra frame.
Regis took control of overtime off the tip. A Charles three-point play put the Pride ahead 54-49, but Lesley's Kris Bennett (Las Vegas, NV/Durango) answered with an emphatic, two-handed and-one slam (below), on which he completed the three-point play to make the score 54-52.
With Lesley trailing by two coming out of a Donald Morris timeout, Kaufman got a fairly clean look at a 23-footer from the left wing that rattled out, allowing Regis escape with the 56-54 victory.
Sanchez tallied 15 points in the loss, the most of all scorers. Rosa scored seven of his 10 points in the first and Bennett pulled down a game-high 10 boards.
Josselin and Ryan Chambers (Abington,MA/Abington) each tallied 11 points for the Pride, and Marc added 10, no two bigger than his right-handed drive that forced overtime.
Regis shot 38 percent from the field, holding Lesley to 32 percent shooting and only 16 points in the second half, allowing the Pride's late 12-point comeback. Regis grabbed 47 boards compared to Lesley's 36.
The Pride will take a short winter recess before traveling to Ohio for the Case Western Reserve Tournament. They are set to play John Carroll on December 29th. Lesley breaks for the holidays and will return home on January 7th against Elms College, with tip-off slated for 6:00 p.m.
Credit: Lesley University
Sports Information Intern
Olivia Coiro
