THE BASICS 
Lesley University, 86 vs. Curry College, 68

Records: 
Lesley University Lynx (1-1, 0-0 NAC)
Curry College Colonels (0-1, 0-0 CNE) 

Location: Milton, Mass. – Katz Gymnasium

Date: Tuesday, November 12, 2024

THE LEAD –  After a tightly contested first half, the Lesley University men's basketball team utilized a 51-34 second half to ultimately top the Curry College Colonels, 86-68, Tuesday evening. Tuesday's win also marked the first of the 2024-25 season for the Lynx. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Curry opened the contest with hot shooting as the hosts grabbed an early eight-point lead (13-5). However, Lesley stormed back and tied things at 15 thanks to a 10-2 run spearheaded by CJ Leonard (Raynham, Mass.) with five points. From then on, both sides continued to exchange baskets, and Lesley would enter halftime up one (35-34).
• The Lynx continued the offensive momentum into the second as the squad opened up on a 6-0 run (41-34) that included buckets from Tavon Rhodes (Dorchester, Mass.) and Angelo Blas (North Port, Fla.). 
• The Colonels lingered around, never allowing the deficit to grow past 10 during the opening moments of the second, and were down by as little as five when it was 43-38. However, Lesley grabbed its first 10-point lead after a Malachi Howard (Winter Haven, Fla.) made it 50-40 with 15:00 left in the contest. Despite the 10-point lead, Curry fought back and brought the deficit back down to five again when it was 55-50, causing the Lynx to use a timeout.
• Coming out of the timeout, Lesley's offense pulled back ahead by 10 to go up 62-52 courtesy of a 7-2 spurt highlighted by five points from Austin Hamilton (Stafford, Va.). But the Colonels once again continued to hang around and found themselves within six (66-60) with 7:09 left. 
• However, Lesley ultimately would pull away from the hosts as the squad closed the last seven minutes of the game on a 20-8 run for the eventual 86-68 win. During the Lynx's offensive outburst, Blas led the way with nine points.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS  

• Leonard led Lesley with 22 points off the bench, including a perfect 3-3 shooting from three. 
• Rhodes continued his hot start to his collegiate career, dropping 19-points on 7-14 shooting and also brought down a team-high, eight boards. 
• Lesley's other double-digit scorers included Hamilton with 15, Blas at 13, and Howard with 11. For Blas, his 13 points marked a new career high.
• The Lynx held the advantage in three-point shooting, going 8-19 (42.1 percent) from the arc compared to Curry's 7-26 (26.9 percent).
• Tuesday's win marked the first against Curry since November 2016 (87-83, Nov. 15). 
• Jaiden Mann led the way overall with a game-high 22 points on 8-11 shooting, including 3-4 from three for Curry. 

UP NEXT

• Lesley returns back home for a nonconference contest against Southern Maine Community College on Thursday, November 14. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.