CAMBRIDGE, MA –Lesley University erased a 17-point deficit to take a three-point second half lead, but visiting Salem State's defense rose to the occasion in winning its seventh straight, 72-61 over the Lynx in non-conference men's basketball play at the Nicholas Athletics Center.
Vikings (17-7) guard Justin Nieves (Lawrence, MA/Lawrence) led all players with 20 points on 2-4 shooting from three-point range, adding seven rebounds. Forward Nate Simpson followed with 18 points and a game-high eight rebounds as Salem State outrebounded the Lynx 39-27.
On his Senior Night, Lesley (10-12) point guard John Sanchez (Carson, CA/Saint John Bosco) led the Lynx with 19 points on 7-9 shooting. Fellow senior Bryant Itonyo (Medford, MA/Medford) added 12 points on four three-pointers, three in the first half, and senior John Stockton totaled six points on a pair of pivotal first half treys during a fervent Lynx comeback.
A pair of Itonyo threes with a Sanchez jumper in between brought Lesley to within two, at 12-10. From there, the Vikings spanned the next five-plus minutes with a 17-4 run fueled by nine points from Nieves in taking a 17-point lead at 31-14.
On the brink of a senior day drubbing, Lesley countered the striking blow from the MASCAC heavyweight with an upperclassmen-led uppercut of its own. Two Stockton long-range bombs sparked an 18-4 Lynx run to close out the half, as the home team scored 11 straight, including seven unanswered in the last 1:12 from Sanchez and Itonyo. On Itonyo's third trey of the half with five seconds remaining, the Lynx clawed to within 37-32 at the intermission.
Lesley's run carried over to the second half, as a Kris Bennett (Las Vegas, NV/Durango) two-handed baseline dunk capped a 10-2 run out of the break and tied the game at 42-42 with 15:49 to play. A Mike Kaufman (Boca Raton, FL/American Heritage) three from the corner in front of the Lynx bench gave Lesley its first lead at 45-43 a minute later, and Justin Rosa's (East Brunswick, NJ/Marist High) layup landed the Lynx their largest lead at 47-44.
With the momentum now fully in Lesley's favor, the first-place Vikings turned up the heat defensively, employing a three-quarter court press to slow Sanchez and take the Lynx shooters out of the groove that saw the team hit 5-12 three-pointers leading up to Kaufman's. The Lynx missed six straight threes, converting only one field goal over a span of over seven minutes in which the Vikings took a 61-54 lead inside the 4:00 mark on an 11-3 run.
Itonyo's fourth three-pointer and a Sanchez slashing layup each cut the margin to four points inside the 3:00 mark, but Salem scored on its last four possessions to fend off another Lynx comeback.
Vikings senior forward Brian Clark (Deerfield, MA/Frontier) scored eight of his 10 in the second half to round out a trio in double figures.
Kaufman added eight points and five rebounds, and Bennett added six points and five boards for the Lynx.
For Lesley's seniors, Stockton's two three-pointers give him 23 for his two years with the Lynx, and Itonyo upped his career total to 125 treys, good for second in Lesley history. Sanchez, the Lynx second all-time leading scorer, finishes his home career with 1,081 points in his three seasons entering a decisive road game this weekend.
Lesley wraps up its regular season with a New England Collegiate Conference playoff bid on the line at Daniel Webster on Saturday, when Salem State travels to Worcester State in MASCAC play.