CAMBRIDGE, MA – Lesley University (4-7, 1-3 NECC) shot 40 percent from three-point range and held Newbury to opponents' season-lows of 50 points and 32 percent shooting in the Lynx 64-50 win in New England Collegiate Conference men's basketball play Tuesday night at the Nicholas Athletics Center.

            Senior Bryant Itonyo (Medford, MA/Medford) tied for game-high honors with 18 points on 6-11 shooting from downtown, igniting the Lynx late first half run that gave Lesley the lead for good, carrying the team's momentum into the second and coming up biggest when the Nighthawks made a game of what looked like a blowout.

            Both teams started slowly from the field, as a scoreless stretch of over three minutes left the teams knotted at 6-6 inside the 12:00 mark. The offense picked up when each team scored on three consecutive possessions starting with a Kris Bennett (Las Vegas, NV/Durango) layup that gave Lesley an 8-6 lead. With the game tied at 15-15, a game-changing Lynx run came from the most unlikely of sources: a three-pointer from Newbury's Steve Rosemond.

            The Nighthawks sophomore guard (Everett, MA/Charlestown) broke the tie with a three from the right wing in front of the Lesley bench, after which he was assessed a technical foul for taunting. That sent John Sanchez (Carson, CA/Bosco), the NECC's leading free throw shooter, to the line for a pair, which he drained in starting a 15-0 Lynx run that ultimately put the home team comfortably on top for the rest of the game.

            A Bennett and-one dunk for a three-point play spun the Nighthawks 18-17 lead in the Lynx favor, and treys from John Stockton (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) and Itonyo followed the dunk. After a Nighthawks layup ended the 15-0 run by making it a 30-20 contest, Itonyo's third three-pointer of the game with four seconds left in the half sent the Lynx into the break with a 33-20 lead.

            While Lesley outrebounded Newbury 21-18 in the first, the difference came from the floor, where Itonyo and the Lynx shot over 42 percent and held Newbury to 25 percent shooting.

            Nighthawks guard Eric Watson (New Rochelle, NY/New Rochelle) drained consecutive triples to cut the margin to seven at 33-26 out of halftime, but a 19-5 Lesley run featuring two threes from freshman guard Justin Rosa (East Brunswick, NJ/Marist) and one from Itonyo increased the lead to 52-31.

            It looked as if the Lynx would coast to a 20-plus-point win, but Watson still had other ideas, as the 6-foot-2 sophomore slashed to the hoop for three straight layups in under a minute. Rosemond added to the run with his fourth three-pointer of the game, and a Kwame Thompson (Brockton, MA/Brockton) layup completed an 11-0 run that brought the visitors to within 10 at 54-44 with 4:51 to play.

            As he had all game, Itonyo provided the answer. With Newbury at the doorstep and coming out of a Donald Morris timeout, the senior guard caught a low kick-out pass from Bennett and elevated from deep on the right wing for his fifth triple of the night. Just over a minute later, following a pair of missed Newbury layups, Itonyo caught a cross-court pass from the opposite block on the same right wing and sank his career-high sixth three-pointer, putting the Lynx back up 16 at the 3:00 mark and nesting the pesky Nighthawks for good.

            Rosa shot 2-5 from downtown, finishing with 10 points, a game-high six assists and four rebounds. Sanchez scored 15 on 8-9 shooting at the stripe, pulling down seven boards to go along with four assists and a game-best four steals. Bennett anchored the paint with nine points, six rebounds and two blocks.

            For the Nighthawks, Rosemond tied Itonyo with 18 points in only 23 minutes, shooting 4-9 from deep and hauling in seven rebounds. Watson followed with 16 points, 12 after half, on 2-5 shooting from three-point range, and Jason Marshall (Fairburn, GA/Bishop Loughlin) pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds.

            Newbury's 50 points are the fewest scored by a Lesley opponent this season. The Nighthawks were limited to 32 percent shooting, 27 percent from distance, in the Lynx finest defensive effort to date.

            Itonyo's six three-pointers were one shy of the Lesley record set by James Parker on February 3, 2007 against the University of Maine-Farmington.

            Lesley goes on the road in between three-game homestands to take on Southern Vermont on Saturday, when Newbury takes on first-place Elms College.