Worcester, Mass. (February 19) -- On Senior Night at Laska Gym, the Assumption College men's basketball team dropped a 73-53 final to visiting Saint Michael's College in Northeast-10 Conference action. Prior to the game, the Hounds honored senior Emiliano Void (Montreal, Quebec/Lockeport Regional) for his contributions to the program during his two years at Assumption.

Assumption came out flying early and after a free throw by freshman Marcus Murray (Silver Spring, Md./John F. Kennedy) with 17:01 left in the first, the Hounds held an 11-3 lead. The Purple Knights cut that lead down to one at 13-12 after two free throws by Morrell Gaskins, but a Void three-pointer with 13:46 on the clock made it a 16-12 margin. The Hounds extended their advantage back to seven at 21-14 following a three from sophomore Chris Fitzgerald (Somerset, Mass./Northfield Mt. Hermon)before  a 10-3 Saint Michael's run tied the game at 24-24 with 4:02 remaining. The run was keyed by three-pointers by James Cambronne and Mike Thompson, with the score ultimately being tied on a layup by freshman forward Matt Bonds.

Gaskins put the visitors in front for the first time at 27-26 on a three-point play at the 2:59 mark and eventually took a 32-29 lead into the halftime break after a late jumper from Cambronne in the final seconds of the half. Assumption shot 30.6 percent from the field in the first half and hit five three-pointers, while the Purple Knights connected on five threes as well and shot 35.5 percent from the field.

In the second half, the Purple Knights started the second half on a 10-3 run to make it a 42-32 margin with 13:46 left after a jumper from Corey Crawford II. The Hounds cut the lead down to eight with 11:59 on the clock before an 11-0 run, capped by a Greg Grippo layup, made it a 19-point game at 57-38 midway thru the period. The lead grew to 22 at 65-43 with 6:46 left after a Dom Ditlefsen three-pointer as the visitors led by at least 16 over the rest of the game, en route to the 20-point victory.

Fitzgerald led the Hounds with a game-high 24 points behind six three-pointers, while sophomore Tim Kasper (Cologne, Germany/Gymnasium Schloss Hagerhof) nearly had a double-double with eight points and 11 rebounds.

Thompson paced three Purple Knights in double figures with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Gaskins posted 11 points and Cambronne finished with 10 points. Bonds led all rebounders in the game with 15 points as he also nearly posted a double-double with eight points as well.

For the game, the Hounds shot 27.4 percent from the field and 25.9 percent from three-point land, while Saint Michael's shot 46 percent from the field and hit nine three-pointers. The Purple Knights held a 51-37 rebounding edge as well, including 40-25 on the defensive glass. Kasper added a pair of blocks for Assumption as the Hounds also forced 23 Saint Michael's turnovers in the loss.

With the loss, Assumption falls to 7-17 overall and 5-14 in Northeast-10 play, while Saint Michael's improves to 18-6 overall and 13-6 in the league.

Assumption is back in action on Saturday, February 22nd as the Hounds travel to Saint Anselm for a 3:30 p.m. start at Stoutenburgh Gym in Manchester, N.H.

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