CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Daniel Webster College sophomore Ryan Gauthier (Nashua, N.H.) led a group of five Eagles in double figures, finishing with a career-high 35 points to lead DWC to a 98-89 win over Lesley University tonight at Buckingham, Browne, and Nichols. The win improves the Eagles to 16-8 on the year and 9-6 in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action while the Lynx fall to 6-17 and 4-11.
Gauthier knocked down a season-high seven triples and finished the night 11-of-22 from the floor. Classmate Kevin Perez (Nashua, N.H.) came one assist shy of a double-double, finishing with 19 points and a game-high nine assist while senior Daris Cosby (Columbia, S.C.) chipped in with 18 points and eight rebounds.
Lesley saw six players finish in double-figures, led by junior Justin Rosa (East Brunswick, N.J.) who tallied a team-high 19 points to go with his three assists and six rebounds. Sophomore Brandon Padgett (New Baltimore, Mich.) finished with 13 points and led all players with three steals while junior Nikalus Oliver (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) came off the bench for 12 points and five caroms. Lesley's 89 points were the most the team has since scoring 85 in a win against Southern Vermont on February 4, 2011.
Both teams came out scorching, connecting for a combined 16 treys in a tight first half that saw eight lead changes. A Terrell Toney (Lakewood, Wash.) old-fashioned three-point play with just under a minute to go in the first stanza gave the Lynx a 52-49 advantage before Gauthier cut the hosts lead to one before the break with a jumper from the top of the key.
Gauthier and Perez did most of their damage in the opening twenty minutes, scoring a combined 37 of the Eagles 51 points at the break. Lesley saw eight different players score in the first, led by nine from freshman Trevonn Lewis (Chicago, Ill.). Both teams shot an identical 60-percent from the field in the half.
Trailing 58-57 just 2:13 into the second frame, the Eagles went on 12-0 run capped by a David Feinstein (Londonderry, N.H.) triple, to take control with a 69-58. Later with 10:02 left in the half, the visitors would use a 6-0 spurt to push their lead to the biggest of the night of 15-points, 77-62.
The Lynx would continue to chip away and use an 8-0 streak of their own to trim the visitors lead down to 83-79 with 4:48 to play, but the Eagles would quickly extend their advantage back to ten with three consecutive buckets from senior Aiden Collins (Paterson, N.J.) and hang on for the 98-89 victory.
The Eagles connected on 57-percent (36-of-63) of their shot attempts, including an impressive 60-percent (15-of-25) from beyond the arc.
The Lynx shot 48.5-percent (33-of-68) from the floor and 50-percent (10-of-20) from three-point range while their ten made three's matched their season-high.
Lesley will wrap up their season tomorrow night (2/20) when they travel to Newbury College at 6:00 while the Eagles will finish their regular season when they welcome Becker College at 6:00p on Friday in a game re-scheduled from January 21st.