NEWTON, Mass. –  Lasell University (4-5, 1-1 GNAC) defeated Saint Joseph's College (4-5, 1-1 GNAC), 90-69, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The conference rivals swapped leads 11 times and faced six tie scores but in the end the Monks had no answer for Lasell graduate guard EJ Day, who registered a monster double-double with 36 points and 18 assists to lead the Lasers to their first GNAC win of the young season.

Overall, Day played a hand in 33 of the Lasers' 39 field goals after making 15-of-22 shots from the field while doling out the most assists in a game by any NCAA DIII Men's Basketball player so far this year.

St. Joe's kept pace early as the contest stood at a 35-35 score after senior forward Ashtyn Abbott (Farmingdale, Maine) made a layup with 2:50 left in the first half. The Lasers took control after scoring 14 unanswered points with Day capping the outbreak with a three-pointer and his team ahead, 49-35, 40 seconds into the second stanza.

The Monks fought back into contention with a 16-2 run as freshman guard John Paul Frazier (York, Maine) scored eight points during the surge, which cut the hosts' lead to 56-51 with 13:22 remaining. Saint Joseph's would get no closer to the lead however, as the Lasers essentially put the game out of reach with a 16-2 surge over the following three minutes.

STATS OF THE GAME:

Lasell netted 24 points off 19 SJC turnovers and shot 60% (39-65) from the field in the victory…The Monks scored four points off nine Laser turnovers and made just 6-of-21 three-point attempts on the afternoon.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Abbott netted 19 points with seven rebounds after going 5-for-5 from the floor and 8-for-9 from the FT line
• Grad guard Griffin Foley (Portland, Maine) added 14 points and four rebounds
• Junior guard Camryn Yorke (Auburn, Maine) chipped in with nine points, seven boards, and two assists
• Frazier scored eight points with a rebound and a steal

LEADERS – LASELL:

• EJ Day was 15-for-22 from the field with 36 points, 18 assists, five rebounds, and four steals
• Conan McCusker and Quinton Partee, Jr. netted 11 points apiece
• Marcus Lewis and Aidan Morin scored 10 points apiece

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

Saint Joseph's is now 15-15 in the history of the series with Lasell University.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's will host University of Southern Maine on Friday, December 30th at 1:00 PM.

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