THE BASICS 
Lesley University, 62 at Thomas College, 85

Records: 
Lesley University Lynx (3-15, 0-8, NAC)
Thomas College Terriers (7-9, 3-4, NAC) 

Location: Waterville, Maine-Larry Mahaney Gymnasium

Date: Saturday, January 18, 2025

THE LEAD— The Lesley University men's basketball team traveled up to Thomas College for a Saturday North Atlantic Conference (NAC) matchup, but unfortunately, the squad fell 85-62 on the afternoon. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Both sides traded baskets early on. While Thomas had a one-point lead (6-5) in the opening moments, Jamarick Preston (Columbus, Ga.) gave the squad a 7-6 lead after he made a driving layup, which led to a Thomas timeout.
• Coming out of the break, the Terrier's offense started to heat up as the hosts pulled ahead by nine (19-10) thanks to a 13-3 run, causing the Lynx to call a timeout. During the Thomas run, Jacob Bouchard led the way with nine points. 
• After the Lesley timeout, the Lynx chipped away at the deficit and found themselves down three (23-20) with 6:13 left until halftime courtesy of a 10-4 rally. For the Lynx, five different student-athletes scored points to help keep the team in striking distance.
• Even though Lesley was down three, Thomas never let the Lynx get any closer as the hosts grabbed their first 10-point lead of the day (30-20) after Jackson Ruelke knocked down a free throw. From then on, the Terriers kept the Lesley offense at bay and took a 33-23 lead into the half.
• As the second got underway, Thomas's offense continued where it left off by starting the half on a 13-4 spurt (46-27) before calling a timeout. Ruelke led the opening moments of the second half for the Terriers by scoring six of the 13 points during the latest Thomas run. 
• After the break, Lesley's offense slowly chipped away, and after a Tarell Joseph (Hempstead, N.Y.) three made it 52-33, Thomas called another timeout with 14:48 remaining. 
• Coming out of the Thomas timeout, the Terriers never let the Lynx get any closer than 15 (55-49) and would ultimately secure the 85-62 NAC win. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS  

• Lesley saw four scorers reach the double-figure mark, with Malachi Howard (Winter Haven, Fla.) leading the way with 14, followed by CJ Leonard (Raynham, Mass.) and Christian Castro (Chesapeake, Va.) with 12 apiece, and Joseph, who chipped in 11. 
• On the glass, Leonard led the way defensively with nine rebounds. He has now brought down five or more rebounds in four straight contests.
• Ruelke led all scorers with 20 points on a 7-10 shooting clip. Thomas' two other scorers in double figures were Parker Desjardins (17 points) and Camryn Yorke (12 points).

UP NEXT

• Lesley has a quick turnaround as the squad is back in action again tomorrow afternoon when the squad heads to UMaine Farmington with tip-off set for 3:00 p.m.