Lasell Tops Men's Basketball 71-69 on Buzzer Beater

PAXTON, Mass.—Junior Armin Omanovic (Wilkesboro, N.C.) hit a last-second buzzer beater to lead the Lasell College men's basketball team to a 71-69 road victory over the AMCATS of Anna Maria College in Wednesday's Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) contest.

With the win, Lasell remains undefeated in GNAC play with a 6-0 record (9-4 overall). Anna Maria falls to 7-7 overall and 3-4 in league action.

THE SERIES

The game, which was the second between the two teams in five days, was a different story than Saturday's 99-94 Lasell win.

Lasell now holds a 11-3 record against the AMCATS dating back to 1998. Anna Maria's last win was a 93-82 victory at home last season.

AMCAT LEADERS

Anna Maria saw a game-high 22 points from senior captain Patrick Bradanese (Billerica, Mass.). Fellow senior Kyle McKissick (Charlton, Mass.) chipped in with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds, while senior Tyler Delorey (Worcester, Mass.) rounded out double-figure scorers with 12 points.

LASELL LEADERS

The Lasers saw 18 points from senior Richard O'Brien (Manchester, N.H.), followed by Omanovic with 17 points. Scott Arsenault (Walpole, Mass.) added 15 points and hit a game-high five three-pointers, while Logan Liberty (Duxbury, Vt.) chipped in with 11 points.

Pat Marchand (Cranston, R.I.) led the Lasers on the boards with a team-best 10 rebounds.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The first half was controlled by Lasell, as they quickly bounded out to a nine-point advantage with 11:57 left in the half. Down by eight with 3:11 remaining in the frame, the AMCATS used a three-pointer by Delorey and a jumper by LK Metz (West Yarmouth, Mass.) to come within three at 38-35. A three-pointer at the other end of the floor by Arsenault sent Lasell into the locker room with a 41-35 lead.

Bradanese opened the second half by scoring six points on his own. His third basket, a layup at the 17:44 mark, cut Lasell's lead to just one possession, 43-41. Lasell responded by opening up another seven-point window and maintained the margin for nearly seven minutes.

A pair of free-throws by Corey Pryor (Whitinsville, Mass.) followed by a three-pointer by Bradanese tied the score at 57-57 with 9:45 remaining. The lead would change twice quickly, but Anna Maria would trail by a point for most of the next four minutes. At 3:22, the AMCATS took a brief lead at 67-66 following a layup by David Jean-Louis (Miramar, Fla.), but Arsenault answered with antoher three-pointer.

After a minute-and-a-half of scoreless play, McKissick tipped in a Bradanese miss to tie the score at 69-69. Both team's had go-ahead chances, but both possessions ended in turnovers. Lasell took a timeout with 18 seconds left, and with four seconds to go, Arsenault missed a three-pointer. That's when Omanovic flew in for the rebound in the paint and wasted no time putting up the shot as time expired.

FINAL COMPARISONS

The AMCATS shot at 43.3 percent (29-67), topping Lasell's 40.4 percent effort (23-57). The biggest difference in the game came at the free-throw line, as the Lasers took 17 trips and were successful 15 times, while Anna Maria finished just 7-for-10 from the charity stripe.

Lasell also held a 10-4 advantage in made three-pointers. The Lasers finished 10-27 from behind the arc (37 percent) while Anna Maria finished 4-14 (28.6 percent).

The AMCATS topped Lasell in all scoring categories: 36-24 in points in the paint, 18-7 in points off turnovers, 10-5 on the fast break, and 10-2 in bench points. Anna Maria also narrowly edged the Lasers in rebounds, 38-37.

WHAT'S NEXT

The AMCATS travel to Norwich on Saturday for a 3:00 p.m. GNAC contest. Lasell is also in action on Saturday, hosting Saint Joseph's College of Maine at 3:00 p.m.