MBB Falls to Lesley 73-67

NEW LONDON, Conn. – Lesley University overcame a five-point halftime deficit and shot 64 percent in the second half to post a 73-67 victory at Mitchell College in New England Collegiate Conference men's basketball action Thursday night at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

John Sanchez led the way for the Lynx (7-9 overall, 4-5 NECC) with a stellar all-around performance, finishing with game highs of 30 points, eight assists and six steals to go along with 7-for-11 shooting from the floor. He also went 13-for-14 from the free throw line and was a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc.

Bryant Itonyo and Valentine Emebo also scored in double figures for Lesley with 15 and 10 points, respectively. As a team, the Lynx shot 45 percent for the contest and went 12-for-23 from three-point range.

Senior Paul Jefferson scored 15 points to lead a balanced Mitchell offense that had seven players finish with eight or more points. Sophomore Joshua Ford grabbed a season-high 19 rebounds and added eight points while freshman Alex Pires chipped in with eight points off the bench.

Mitchell (5-11 overall, 3-7 NECC) made four of its first five field goal attempts to jump out to a 10-3 lead in the opening minutes. The Mariners stayed in front the entire stanza and led by as many as 12 before the Lynx whittled the margin down to 33-28 by the break.

Sanchez got the Lynx going in the early moments of the second half. He drained a three-pointer on Lesley's second possession and added a pair of free throws just 27 seconds later, trimming the deficit to 35-33. He later assisted on a three-pointer by Intonyo that gave the Lynx their first lead at 39-37 with 17:31 to play.

Lesley held onto the lead until Pires buried a trey to put the Mariners back in front at 51-50 with 11:16 to go. A three-pointer by senior Terrance Fisher with 8:38 remaining extended the lead to four at 58-54, but Lesley took control behind eight straight points over the next 3:33. Both Itonyo and Sanchez dropped in threes during the stretch, and the latter's gave the Lynx a 62-58 advantage with 5:05 to play.

Lesley later extended the margin to 10 on a pair of freebies from Sanchez, who made 13 straight from the line before missing on his final attempt of the night. He scored 21 of his 30 points in the second half and played every minute of the game.

Seniors Jeff Gomez and Alex Vess each finished with nine points while both Enoch Contreras and Fisher contributed eight. Gomez also pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds, including six on the offensive glass.

Mitchell will next host Wheelock College on Saturday, January 28 at noon.