WESTON, Mass. - The Regis (Mass.) men's and women's basketball teams will both look to make some noise as each prepares for its first appearance in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Tournament.
The women's team (15-10, 12-4 GNAC) earned a number four seed, and will host the first ever GNAC postseason game in any sport held at Regis on Tuesday as Albertus Magnus comes to town. The Pride beat the Falcons 75-58 way back on December 2 in both teams' GNAC opener.
The Falcons (17-7, 11-5 GNAC) were the number four seed in the now-defunct GNAC South Division last season, and fell to top-seeded and eventual champion Saint Joseph's (Me.) by a narrow 64-61 margin. Albertus will again have an upset on the mind when it comes to Higgins Court on Tuesday evening.
Tuesday's game will will likely come down to the battle of the paint, featuring two serious GNAC Player of the Year contenders. Stone is the conference's third leading scorer with 19.8 points per game, second leading rebounder with 12.9 per game, and leads the conference by a wide margin in field goal percentage at 63.2 percent. The only more prolific rebounder in the GNAC this season is Albertus Magnus senior Olivia Bolden, averaging 14.0 boards per game, to go along with 21.7 points per game. The two went nearly shot for shot in their previous matchup on December 2, each scoring 22 points and Bolden holding a narrow 12-11 rebounding edge on Stone. Stone played just 24 minutes in the contest, while Bolden played the full 40 minutes.
On the men's side, the Pride earned the fifth seed and will have a short trip down the road to take on #4 Lasell College on Tuesday evening. The teams finished the regular season with identical 12-13 overall records, with Lasell at 10-6 in the GNAC and Regis at 9-7.
The Pride traveled to Lasell just three weeks ago, suffering a crushing 69-67 defeat to the Lasers on a final-minute go-ahead three-pointer. The Pride trailed by as much as 12 in the second half before going ahead in the game's closing minutes. The bench was the story of the game for the Pride, with 44 of the team's 67 points coming from the reserves. Freshman Juvens Dalger (Oakland Park, Fla.) was the Pride's high-point man with 16 points, while Stefan Masciarelli led with way for the Lasers with 21 points and nine assists.
The Pride will need to focus on defending the three point line, as the Lasers have hit the second most triples in the GNAC this season with 243 in 25 games. Laser senior Scott Arsenault, who hit the final minute dagger to sink the Pride, ranks second in the conference with a three-point percentage of 46.2 percent. Masciarelli is Lasell's leading scorer, ranking third in the GNAC with an average of 17.6 points per game. Lasell's top three leading scorers are all guards, with freshman forward Liam Jacobs leading the way underneath with 8.1 points per game.
Both games are scheduled to tip off at 7:00 p.m. from Higgins Court and the Lasell Athletic Center. Both can be streamed live at GoRegisPride.com, and be sure to follow @GoRegisPride on Twitter for live updates.
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