Neither team found much of an offensive rhythm all night and the physical game remained tight down the stretch. After 35 sloppy minutes of basketball, the squads were locked at 46-46. Rose then knocked down 3-pointers on consecutive Eph possessions to give the home team a 52-46 lead with 3:35 to play. But Williams had trouble coming up with stops on the defensive end, and Lasell crawled back to tie the game at 52-52 with 1:45 to go.
Rookie Kevin Snyder gave the Ephs a 54-52 edge when he drew a foul and converted both free throws on his 1-and-1, but Lasell answered with two free throws of its own on its next possession.
With 1:05 left on the clock and the score tied, Williams stormed up the court looking for the game-winner. Junior Brian Nelson missed a tough 3-pointer as the shot clock wound down but came up with the rebound to give the Ephs another chance. Williams Head Coach Dave Paulsen called timeout with 17.7 seconds remaining and drew up a play for senior center Andrew Newton. Though the Ephs found the big man inside, his shot at the buzzer did not fall, setting the stage for overtime.
Williams finally emerged from its offensive slump in the opening minutes of the extra frame. Snyder, Rose and Nelson drained 3-pointers on the Ephs' first three possessions, giving Williams a 63-57 lead with 1:54 to play.
Lasell then elected to start sending the Ephs to the line. Sophomore point guard Chris Shalvoy hit 7-of-8 free throws over the final minute of overtime to help seal the victory. Though Lasell stayed in contention by hitting three 3-pointers and drawing some questionable foul calls, Williams held on for a 73-71 victory.
Rose shouldered the load offensively for the Ephs, connecting on 11-of-19 shots from the floor, including 8-of-14 from downtown. Though Shalvoy had a tough shooting night, his free throw shooting and 9 assists were keys for the Ephs. Nelson (15 points) and Snyder (7 points, 5 assists) also chipped in.
Four Lasell scorers reached double digits, with Jaime Crawford (17 points) leading the balanced attack. Forward Dan Schweitzer scored 12 points and pulled down 10 boards, helping Lasell dominate Williams on the glass, 39-26.
Williams struggled from the start offensively. Nearly 14 minutes into the game, the Ephs had barely cracked double digits and trailed 19-11. Lasell took a 26-22 advantage into halftime, having held Williams to just 30.8 percent shooting from the floor.
"We're just happy to get out of here alive," Paulsen said. "We shot the ball incredibly poorly but we got out of it with a win. It's always better to teach from a win than from a loss."
The Ephs hit the road for a pair of conference matchups this weekend. Williams will face Tufts on Friday night and Bates on Saturday afternoon.