Story courtesy of Rob Palardy, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Lesley University men’s basketball team defeated Mitchell College 72-46 and improved their season record to 7-11 (4-3 NECC). Mitchell dropped to 2-14 (1-7 NECC) on the season following the loss.

Lesley jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the opening 4:37 of the game with sophomore guard Bryant Itonyo (MEDFORD, Mass./Medford) leading the charge with eight of those points including two three-pointers. Itonyo finished with 13 points in the first half on 5-of-9 shooting from the floor.

The Lynx were able to stretch out their lead to 12 points by halftime at 35-23 thanks to Itonyo and John Sanchez (CARSON, Calif./Saint John Bosco) who scored 11 points on 3-of-4 from the field and 4-of-6 from the free throw line. He also helped the cause defensively by forcing four steals.

Mitchell as a team had 14 turnovers in the first half and finished with 21 in the game.

In the second half, Mitchell’s Mike DePaolo (ASBURY, N.J./North Hunterdon) attempted to get his Mariner squad back in the game by scoring 12 of his team-high 17 points. The senior also finished with four rebounds and two steals in the game. No other Mariner player scored in double-digits.

Itonyo had a game-high 19 points and was electric from three-point range, making 5-of-7 attempts. Harold Smith (FLORENCE, Ariz./Florence) was solid off the bench with eight points and seven rebounds.

Lesley got solid contributions off the bench as they totaled 32 bench points compared to 16 from Mitchell. Mitchell was effective on the fast break, outscoring the Lynx 14-0.

Lesley will be back in action on Tuesday, February 2 as the team travels to Becker College. Mitchell has a road game against Western Connecticut State on the same day.