CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Lesley University freshman Max McCoy (Simi Valley, Calif.) dropped a team-high 15 points and three assists as the Lynx opened their home campaign with a 70-56 win over Emerson College in non-conference action tonight at Buckingham, Browne, and Nichols. After starting the season with four road losses, Lesley moved to 1-4 on the season, picking up their first home-opener victory since the 2005-2006 season. Emerson saw their three-game winning streak come to a close as they fall to 3-2 on the young season.
McCoy went 4-of-9 from the field including going 3-of-5 from beyond the arc to set a career-high while senior Kris Bennett (Inglewood, Calif.) posted his second double-double of the season with 11 points and a game-high 15 boards. Junior guard Justin Rosa (East Brunswick, N.J.) matched his season-high with 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting.
Leading the way for the Lions was sophomore guard Tyson Hallowell (Lincoln, Mass.) who scored a game-high 16 points while backcourt partner Michael Thorpe (Newton, Mass.) posted ten points to go with his team-high three assists. Senior Jon Goldberg (Stowe, Vt.) and junior Austin Pinckney (Miami, Fla.) finished with nine and eight points, respectively, while each collected eight caroms.
Lynx senior Mike Kaufman (Boca Raton, Fla.) registered all of his 12 points in the first half, knocking down four of his five treys, as Lesley took a 29-24 advantage into the break. The Lynx hit 5-of-6 from downtown in the opening twenty minutes while the Lions were a paltry 1-of-16 in the first half.
In the second half, a Brian Hurley (South Boston, Mass.) layup gave the Lions a 41-39 advantage with 12:18 to play. The lead would not last long, however, as the Lynx stormed back with a 23-5 run over the next eight minutes to take a commanding 62-48 lead with just over four minutes to play. McCoy led the charge scoring eight of his 15 during the stretch while freshman guard Trevonn Lewis (Chicago, Ill.) registered six of his eight on the run.
Lesley shot a season-high 46.9% (23-of-49) from the floor while connecting on an impressive 61.5% (8-of-13) of their three-point attempts. Emerson shot 34.4% (21-61) from the field while they struggling from beyond the arc, hitting just 10.7% (3-of-28) from three-point range.
The Lynx also held the advantage at the charity stripe, finishing at 84.2% (16-of-19) while the Lions hit just 52.4% (11-21) of their free throw attempts.
The Lynx will return to action on Tuesday, December 3rd as the open up New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) play when they host Regis College at Buckingham, Browne, and Nichols at 8:00p.
The Lions will travel to UMASS-Boston this weekend as they participate in the 29th Annual Harbor Invitational. Emerson will kick-off the tournament with a game against Wesleyan on Saturday at 6:00p.