The men's basketball team won a hard-fought match against the Husson University Eagles Tuesday night at the Athletic Center, handing them their first loss this season. The game was a back-and-forth battle for nearly the entire game until the Lasers strung together a 13-3 run in the last four minutes. The Lasers’ continuous hustle to rebound their misses proved to be a difference-maker, as they nearly doubled the Eagles’ offensive rebound numbers, with fifteen compared to their opponents’ eight. More importantly, the Lasers turned their activity under the rim into good looks, earning 20 second-chance points.
From the jump, it was clear that junior forward Gabe Qua was in for a big night, scoring the first five Laser points. The quick start from the offense helped the Lasers come out of the gates on a 7-0 run, which was quickly met with a response by the Eagles. While no team was able to pull away, both squads continued trading buckets down the stretch. First-year guard Che Hanks led the Lasers on an 8-0 run to end the half, and the defense forced nine Eagles turnovers. As the first-half buzzer sounded, the Lasers found themselves up five points, 39-34.
The first sixteen minutes of the second half did not differ from the first, with the Lasers continuing to crash the glass and neither team able to put a sustainable run together. After the Eagles hit big shots from beyond the arc to keep them within striking distance, the momentum began to shift in favor of the Lasers. Junior guard Marcus Lewis helped contribute with some clutch buckets down the stretch.
The Lasers won by a final score of 82-72, clinching their sixth win of the year and third in a row. Qua led the way with a game-high twelve rebounds and a career-high 23 points. Hanks also earned a career-high 20 points, while dishing out seven assists along the way.
After the game, Hanks credited his teammates for his ever-evolving role in the Lasers' offense.
“My teammates remind me to stay composed,” Hanks said. “For the first few games, it felt like I was going a hundred miles an hour, and now I’ve been able to relax and let my game come naturally.”
The Lasers will look to extend their win streak to four when they visit Brandeis College on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
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