CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Daniel Webster College stormed back from a 15-point halftime deficit to defeat Lesley University 57-52 in New England Collegiate Conference men's basketball action tonight at the Nicholas Athletic Center. The Eagles move to 5-8 overall and 2-3 in the NECC with the win while the Lynx drop to 2-12 on the year and 2-4 in conference play.
It was a tale of two halves as the Lynx outscored their guests 28-13 in the first while the Eagles held a 44-24 edge in the second stanza to claim the victory.
DWC sophomore Shawn Fenton (South River, N.J.) led the charge as he registered a double-double with a game-high 18 points and 14 rebounds. Classmate Ray Farmer (Nashua, N.H.) joined Fenton with a double-double of his own as he finished with 12 points and 12 boards while junior Ryan Gauthier (Nashua, N.H.) was the third Eagle to finish with a double-double with ten points and 13 rebounds. Gauthier also added a team-high five assists to his line on the night.
Lesley junior Chris Barletta (Valrico, Fla.) led a balanced scoring attack for the hosts as he notched 12 points and five boards while fellow junior Corbin Polec (Okemos, Mich.) knocked down three triples on his way to 11 points. Senior Justin Rosa (East Brunswick, N.J.) finished with nine points, four boards, three steals, and a pair of assists while sophomore Terrell Toney (Lakewood, Wash.) tallied eight points, six rebounds, and a game-best six assists for the hosts.
After the teams exchanged three's to open the game, the Lynx used a 9-1 run to take a 11-4 edge over the opening six minutes of action. Barletta powered the Lesley offense with four points during the streak.
Leading 14-8 with 11:48 to go in the first, the Lesley defense stayed strong as they allowed just two more DWC field goals in the half as they closed out the opening half on a 14-5 run to take a 28-13 advantage into the break. The 13 points allowed was the fewest points allowed in a half in program history. The previous mark was 14 points allowed on February 8th, 2008 against Thomas College.
The Lynx held the Eagles to just 17-percent (4-of-24) shooting in the opening twenty minutes while hitting 34-percent (11-of-32) of their own opportunities.
DWC came out hot after the break using a 19-6 run over the first eight minutes of the second half to pull within two, 34-32. Farmer was the catalyst for the Eagles as he poured in eight of his 12 points on the night during the spurt.
Toney interrupted the Eagles streak with a jumper from the left side before Fenton went on to score six straight for the visitors and give them their first lead since the 18:41 mark in the first half. DWC would not trail again in the game and led by as much as eight before ending with the 57-52 victory.
The Eagles put their shooting woes behind them after halftime as they knocked down 56-percent (15-of-27) of their shots in the final twenty minutes while limiting the Lynx to just 28-percent (10-of-26).
Both teams finished with 26 points in the paint while DWC held a distinct 52-35 edge in rebounds, using 11 on the offensive glass to find 16 second chance points on the night.
The Lynx will return to their home court on Thursday when they welcome Newbury College at 8:00p while the Eagles will travel to Becker College on Thursday for a 6:00p tip-off. DWC and Lesley will square off again on Saturday in Nashua, N.H. That game is scheduled to start at 1:00p.