CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Lesley University men's basketball opened up
its 2008 schedule against MIT, falling to the Engineers 77-60 at
Rockwell Cage. The Lynx found themselves in a deep hole early
in the first half, as MIT went on a 19-0 run and never looked
back.
The Lynx were able to get several of those points back as Mark
Stevens (Las Vegas, Nev.), Matt Grassa
(Everett, Mass.), and Dana Datillo (Derry,
N.H.) all hit shots from beyond the arc. After
another Stevens basket cut the lead to 40-28, the Engineers scored
the last four points of the half to go into the locker room with a
44-28 lead.
Lesley controlled the tempo early in the second half as talented
freshman Jesus Trejo (Methuen, Mass.) provided an
important low-post presence. His efforts helped decrease the
MIT lead down to nine points with just 14 minutes left in the
game.
Despite the energized comeback from the Lynx, the Engineers proved
to be too strong at both ends of the floor. The MIT attack
increased the lead back up to double-digits and put Lesley away for
good.
For Lesley, newly eligible Jermaine Harris (Methuen,
Mass.) led the team with 10 points as he was the only Lynx
player to hit double-digits in scoring. Joseph Chatman
(Boston, Mass.), Jonathan Cruz (Haverhill,
Mass.), Stevens and Trejo each chipped in with eight
points. Harris had eight rebounds to lead the Lynx in that
category, but MIT out rebounded Lesley 51-32 for the game.
For MIT, Jimmy Bartolotta (Littleton, Colo.)
tallied a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds for the
Engineers. Bartolotta was hot from the floor hitting 8-of-17
shots and also chipped in with five assists, a block and a steal
for an impressive overall performance.
With the loss, the Lynx dropped their overall record to 3-7 (1-0
North Atlantic Conference). The Engineers improved to
8-4.
The next contest for Lesley will be Coast Guard Academy on January
7 at 8 p.m. MIT will face their first NEWMAC opponent of the
2007-2008 on January 9 at 8 p.m. against Wheaton College.
To learn more about the Lesley University men's basketball team,
please visit their website.