CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The Curry College men's basketball took a 20-point lead with 8:32 remaining in the game, but Lesley University went on a 31-11 run to force overtime against the Colonels.  The Lynx continued their momentum into the extra period and defeated Curry 78-75 for their third win of the season.  With the loss Curry dropped to 2-6.

Lesley sophomore Jesus Trejo (Methuen, Mass.) gave a gutsy performance scoring 26 points and grabbing 19 rebounds, 13 of which were offensive boards.  Trejo was 12-of-23 from the floor for a Lynx squad that shot just 38.6%.  The Lesley center also blocked four shots in 37 minutes on the court.

Complementing Trejo's effort were Nijel Robinson (Plainsboro, N.J.) and Jonathan Cruz (Haverhill, Mass.) who scored 17 and 15 points, respectively.  The backcourt duo was effective on defense as well as both players combined for 13 steals. 

Curry captain Mark Mastrullo (Billerica, Mass.) dropped a game-high 34 points on 11-of-23 shooting including seven three-pointers.  Chris Bonadies (Medfield, Mass.) finished with a double-double in the game, tallying 17 points and 11 rebounds.  Bonadies blocked four shots and had two steals in the great overall performance.

Both teams struggled offensively in the first half as Curry held a 27-20 advantage going into halftime.  The Colonels shot 34.4% from the field while the Lynx hit 24.2% of their attempts.

Curry got into an offensive groove at the start of the second half as the Colonels went on a 15-5 run, capped off by a offensive rebound and put back Bonadies. 

Down 20 points with 8:32 remaining, the Lynx were able to step up their defense as they force 14 Colonels turnovers to get back into the game.  For the game, the Lynx converted 22 turnovers into 31 points.  In the final second of the second half, Trejo hit a layup to tie the game at 66 which forced overtime.

Trejo netted six points of Lesley's 12 overtime points and the Lynx walked away with a dramatic come-from-behind victory over Curry.

Lesley will next travel to Colby-Sawyer College on Saturday for a 2:00 pm game.  Curry hosts Salem State on January 3, 2009 for a 3:00 pm game. 

To learn more about the Lesley University men's basketball team, please visit their website.

Contact:          Rob Palardy
                        Sports Information Director
                        Lesley University
                        617.349.8627 (office)
                        617.349.8640 (fax)
                        rpalardy@lesley.edu