CAMBRIDGE, MA – With a trip to the New England Collegiate Conference Tournament at stake, Daniel Webster turned a two-point halftime lead into a 22-point victory over Lesley, 78-56, in NECC men's basketball play Saturday night.

     Chris Voukides (Salem, NH/Salem) shot 6-10 from three-point range for a game-high 22 points and Chris Hanson (Salem, NH/Salem) added 14 as the Eagles (11-13, 5-9 NECC) held Lesley (6-20, 3-13) to two field goals over the first 18:00 of the second half and 15 percent shooting for the period in securing the final spot in the NECC playoffs.

     In his final game in a Lynx uniform, senior Thorton Paul (Boston, MA/West Roxbury) led Lesley with 16 points. Fellow senior Jesus Trejo (Methuen, MA/Methuen) scored 11 of his 15 before halftime, and John Sanchez (Carson, CA/Saint John Bosco) scored 10 of his 13 in the first.

     Trejo topped off one last double-double with a game-best 13 rebounds.

     The teams traded leads throughout a back and forth first half. Daniel Webster led by as many as five, going up 22-17 on a Hanson jumper at the 7:35 mark, but Lesley responded with a 11-2 run started with a Paul three-pointer and capped with a Sanchez trifecta, which put Lesley on top 30-26 with 4:41 remaining.

     A late Hanson three put the Eagles up 39-35, and a pair of Trejo free throws cut the margin to 39-37 at the break.

     With Trejo dominating the paint to the tune of 4-5 shooting, 11 points and six boards, Daniel Webster head coach Dave Faucher opted for a 2-3 zone in the second half, and the Eagles rode it all the way to the playoffs. Unable to spot its senior big man inside and with Sanchez's shifty slashing game no longer a factor, Lesley was stuck to the perimeter, where the Lynx shot 2-13 in the second half.

     A Paul jumper tied the game 39-39 at the 18:00 mark, but it was the Lynx last field goal for over nine minutes. In that time, eight different Eagles chipped in on a 18-1 run highlighted by back-to-back three-pointer by Voukides and Hanson, putting Daniel Webster on top 57-40 with its zone defense stifling any hopes of a Lynx comeback.

     After shooting over 54 percent in the first half, Lesley was held to 22 percent shooting in the second, in which time the Eagles shot 52 percent. Keith Speed (Columbus, OH/Reynoldsburg)  added 10 points on 5-7 shooting for Daniel Webster, which will travel to  Southern Vermont College on Tuesday night in the first round of the NECC Tournament.

Newspaper Box Score
Daniel Webster vs Lesley University
02/19/11 8:00 p.m. at Cambridge, MA
At Cambridge, MA
DANIEL WEBSTER 78, LESLEY UNIVERSITY 56
DANIEL WEBSTER (11-13(5-9 NECC))
Chris Voukides 8-14 0-0 22; Chris Hanson 5-11 2-2 14; Keith Speed 5-7 0-0
10; Eric Suarez 3-8 2-2 8; Aiden Collins 2-2 2-3 6; Daris Cosby 2-5 0-0 5;
Jonathan Smalls 2-3 0-0 4; Rufus Louf 1-5 1-3 3; Kevin Gates 1-1 0-0 2;
Lawrence Green 1-1 0-0 2; Omari Wright 0-0 2-2 2; Jose Miranda-Montero 0-0
0-0 0; John Hickson 0-1 0-0 0; David Kulowitch 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-59 9-12
78.
LESLEY UNIVERSITY (6-20 (3-13 NECC))
Thornton Paul 5-14 3-3 16; Jesus Trejo 6-9 3-6 15; John Sanchez 4-12 4-6 13;
Grant Cobb 2-3 0-0 5; Harold Smith 2-2 1-2 5; Christian Fuentes 1-5 0-0 2;
Kris Bennett 0-0 0-0 0; Nicholas Sparacino 0-0 0-0 0; Myles Mungcal 0-5 0-0
0; John Stockton 0-0 0-0 0; D'Elijah Dauphin 0-0 0-0 0; Mike Kaufman 0-0 0-0
0; Bryant Itonyo 0-6 0-0 0. Totals 20-56 11-17 56.
Daniel Webster................   39   39  -   78
Lesley University.............   37   19  -   56
3-point goals--Daniel Webster 9-23 (Chris Voukides 6-10; Chris Hanson 2-7;
Daris Cosby 1-4; Keith Speed 0-2), Lesley University 5-22 (Thornton Paul
3-8; John Sanchez 1-4; Grant Cobb 1-1; Christian Fuentes 0-4; Myles Mungcal
0-1; Bryant Itonyo 0-4). Fouled out--Daniel Webster-None, Lesley
University-None. Rebounds--Daniel Webster 41 (Rufus Louf 8), Lesley
University 31 (Jesus Trejo 13). Assists--Daniel Webster 11 (Keith Speed 3),
Lesley University 11 (John Sanchez 5). Total fouls--Daniel Webster 19,
Lesley University 13. Technical fouls--Daniel Webster-None, Lesley
University-None. A-255