CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Lesley University senior Mike Kaufman (Boca Raton, Fla.) knocked down six treys on his way to a game-high 18 points to lead the Lynx to a 73-58 win over Framingham State University in non-conference action tonight at Buckingham, Browne, and Nichols. With the win, Lesley improves to 2-6 on the year while the Rams fall under .500 to 4-5.
Kaufman's six three's marks the fourth time he has drilled four or more in a game this season, falling one short of his season high of seven in a loss at Endicott College.
Complementing Kaufman's production was junior guard Justin Rosa (East Brunswick, N.J.) who finished with 11 points on the night as Lesley's balanced attack saw 12 different players register points. Freshman Trevonn Lewis (Chicago, Ill.) and junior Nikalus Oliver (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) each chipped in with eight points while freshman Terrell Toney (Lakewood, Wash.) came off the bench to finish with seven. Senior Kris Bennett (Inglewood, Calif.) steadied the defense, blocking a season-high four shots while grabbing ten boards.
Junior Jamie Henderson (Cedar Hill, Tx.) paced the Rams attack, coming off the bench to score a team-high 14 points while freshmen Charles Collins (Lynn, Mass.) and Dan Gould (Quincy, Mass.) registered 12 points apiece. Junior forward Patrick Cuff (Medway, Mass.) chipped in with ten points to go with his team-high ten rebounds.
The Lynx never trailed in the game as they jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead over the first four minutes of play. Rosa sparked Lesley in the opening minutes, capping the 8-0 streak with back-to-back buckets.
Rosa ignited another run with 7:29 left in the first half as he drove the lane for a layup before coming back down the floor and knocking down a three-pointer from the top of the key to give the Lynx their biggest lead of the first twenty minutes, 29-15, before ending the half with a 32-19 edge. Rosa had nine of his ten in the first.
Lesley knocked down 43.4% (13-of-30) of their shots over the opening half while holding Framingham to just 31% (9-of-29). The Rams also struggled from beyond the arc, as they hit only 14.3% (1-of-7).
The teams exchanged baskets over the opening minutes of the second half before Kaufman and the Lynx pulled away with just over 15-minutes to play. The senior sharpshooter knocked down five treys over the next five minutes as Lesley opened up a 22-point advantage with 9:45 left in the game as they rolled to the 73-58 victory.
Lesley shot a season-high 48% (29-of-61) from the field while keeping a hot hand from three-point range, hitting on 42.1% (8-of-19) of the attempts from behind the stripe. Framingham finished the game with a 36.8% (25-of-68) shooting percentage while knocking down only 15.8% (3-of-19) of their three-point attempts. The Rams held a 43-37 rebounding advantage while the Lynx committed three fewer turnovers, 15-12.
Both teams will play their final game of the semester on Saturday as the Lynx will travel to Gordon College at 3:00p while the Rams will head to Chicopee, Mass. for a tilt with Elms College also at 3:00p.