Lesley University, 78 vs. SUNY Delhi, 61
Records:
Lesley University Lynx (5-18, 2-9 NAC)
SUNY Delhi Broncos (9-13, 6-5 NAC)
Location: Lexington, Mass.-Minuteman Gymnasium
Date: Friday, February 7, 2025
THE LEAD— In a game where eight different Lynx found the bottom of the net, the Lesley University men's basketball team came away with a crucial North Atlantic Conference (NAC) victory over SUNY Delhi, 78-61, Friday evening. Before the game, Lesley honored its three seniors: Kai Burridge (New York, N.Y.), Christian Castro (Chesapeake, Va.), and Malachi Howard (Winter Haven, Fla.). Lesley University Athletics would like to thank these three student-athletes for all their efforts for the Lesley men's basketball program over their careers!
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Lesley's offense started quickly as the squad opened the first half, scoring the first nine points before Warren Davis broke up the Lynx's momentum. Hezekiah Brown (Stafford, Va.) led the early Lesley surge, scoring seven of the nine points.
- As the quarter went on, Lesley's strong play on both ends of the ball helped SUNY Delhi stay at bay throughout the first half. After a Noah Colin free throw made it a seven-point game (21-14) with a little under five minutes until halftime (4:41), The Lynx's offense was able to finish the quarter strong as the squad utilized a 14-4 run to push their lead to 17 (35-18) before SUNY Delhi called a timeout. Nathaniel Maldonado (Bronx, N.Y.) spearheaded the Lesley offense with nine points, which included three straight threes.
- Coming out of the break, SUNY Delhi was able to take some momentum heading into halftime as the visitors outscored the Lynx, 4-2 for the last minute of the second to go into halftime down 37-22.
- Going into the second half, the Lynx continued where they left off at the beginning of the first. With less than 12 minutes left to play (11:25), Tarell Joseph (Hempstead, N.Y.) knocked down a three that gave the squad its largest lead of the night (55-31).
- Despite the large deficit, SUNY Delhi chipped away with some stops and making shots when they needed to, and after a Gutarling Louis layup made it 65-44 with 7:36 left to play, the Broncos called a timeout to rest up and tried to make one more push.
- However, the Lesley defense prevented the Broncos from getting closer. The closest SUNY Delhi got was when Aidan Madera made a layup with 18 seconds remaining, making it 78-61 before the final horn went off.
Mayo's Musings
With the Lynx honoring their three seniors tonight, Lesley men's basketball head coach Devon Mayo had high praise for his senior student-athletes.
- Mayo on Burridge: "Kai is the perfect picture of what being bought in looks like," said Mayo. "He is somebody who works hard every day regardless of how you're feeling. I want to thank Kai for his commitment, and I'm excited to see him succeed as a coach."
- Mayo on Castro: "Cash has been an enormous factor in growing this program and has shown his true loyalty for all 4 years," said Mayo. "His footprint will forever be embedded into this program, and I'm excited to see what the future has in store for him."
- Mayo on Howard: "Mali has been locked in with this program since he's gotten here and has done everything I asked him to," said Mayo. "This included playing out of his original position. I've seen him transform as a player, person, and leader for this program. I'm sure Mali will be successful in whatever he decides to do in the future."
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Howard led all scorers with 22 points on the night. Miles and Joseph were the two other scorers in double figures with 16 and 12 points, respectively. For Miles, he was able to tie his career-high in scoring tonight.
- On the glass, Brown led the Lynx with 10 boards. He has now grabbed 10+ rebounds in two of his last three games.
- Castro chipped in six points while also swiping three steals. He has now recorded three or more steals in two of his last three games.
- Burridge tied his season in assists with three helpers tonight and has dished out multiple assists in six contests this year.
- For SUNY Delhi, Warren Davis (14 points) and Brennan Heaven (12 points) were the only scorers in double figures for the Broncos Friday.
- With tonight's win, Lesley has surpassed last year's win total (four), and it is the most wins for the Lynx under Coach Mayo since he started in 2018-19.
- Lesley was able to split the season series with SUNY Delhi but ended up outscoring them in two games, 156-139.
- Tonight's victory was Lesley's second wire-to-wire win this year after topping VTSU Lyndon on January 31.
UP NEXT
- Lesley is right back at it tomorrow when the squad hosts SUNY Cobleskill at 3 p.m.