MILTON, Mass. - The Curry College Men's Basketball team dropped their 2016-17 season opener against Lesley at the Katz Gymnasium in non-conference action 87-83 in double overtime on Tuesday night. With the win, Lesley improves to 1-0 overall. Curry falls to 0-1 on the year.
The game remained close throughout the first and second halves, as the team tallied the same number of points as one another in each half. Almost halfway through the first half, DaShawn Williams (New Haven, Conn.) knocked down a three to tie the game at 15 with 11:45 to go in the first stanza. No team held a lead larger than five points for remainder of the first half.
With the game tied up at the break, the contest was up for the taking. The second half was very much like the first with neither team gaining a sizeable advantage. With the Lynx up by two with 1:39 to go in regulation, James Pina (Warwick, R.I.) helped send the game into overtime with a made jump shot with just 26 seconds to go to tie the game at 65.
Heading into the first overtime period, Lesley was able to gain a four-point advantage with 2:35 to go. Jordan James-Bellitti (Cambridge, Mass.) scored four straight points, which included the equalizer on a layup to knot the game at 71 to send the game to a second overtime.
The Lynx opened the second overtime on an 8-2 run put them in front by seven. But the Colonels would respond and trim the lead to just two on a three point shot by Jaelen George-Bellitti (Cambridge, Mass.) at 85-83.
After two free throws to extend the lead to four Curry had one final opportunity to send the game to another overtime. Up by four, the shot from Jaelen George-Bellitti would miss and the Colonels would fall by four points.
Lesley shot 38.2 percent from the floor (26-of-68), including 24 percent (6-of-25) from downtown.
Xeo Golding (Windermere, Fla.) posted game's leading scorer, tallying 24 points. Devon Mayo (Newport News, Va.) posted a double-double, finishing with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Will Gibson (Melbourne, Fla.) chipped in 11 points off the bench.
Curry had a seven rebound advantage over Lesley (46-39), outrebounding Curry 44-26. The Colonels also edged the Lynx in second chance points (15-13) and in bench points (24-21)
Curry shot 46.8 percent (29-of-62) from the floor, including 40.0 percent (6-of-15) from beyond the arc. Pina led Curry in the loss with 21 points and 12 rebounds while DaShawn Williams (New Haven, Conn.) and Jason O'Neill came off the bench to score 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Curry returns to the hardwood Friday when they travel to take on Castleton State University at 7 p.m. Lesley will also play on the road Friday when they open play against Fisher College in the Rivier University Tip-Off Tournament. The contest is set to begin at 8 p.m.
