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Salem

About the 2002 Division III
men's basketball tournament

Union 75, Lasell 73
SCHENECTADY, N.Y. — Union senior guard Aaron Galletta is known more for his scoring than for his shot blocking ability. But Galletta, who stands 6-7, came up with the biggest rejection of his career when he stopped Lasell scoring ace Dwayne Okantey with three seconds remaining to help Union hang on for a 75-73 victory in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament before an estimated crowd of 1,350 at Memorial Field House.

The victory enabled the eighth-seeded Dutchmen, 21-7 (an 14-2 at home this year), to advance to Saturday's second round game at Babson, which owns the fourth seed by virtue of its 24-4 record. Lasell, which up until four years ago did not enroll men, finished its finest season art 21-7.

Galletta, who came into the game as Union's all-time leading scorer with 1,914 points in 106 career starts (an average of 18.1), added 21 points to his total, but it was his 47th career block that propelled the Dutchmen into Saturday's second round. Down by two with 25 seconds remaining, Lasell's James Smith picked up a rebound off of a missed Union free throw. The Lasers calmly brought the ball up court looking for the 3-point shot that would give them the win or at least the two-point basket that would produce overtime.

With Union defending the perimeter, Lasell fed the ball inside to Okantey who drove the lane for the potential tying basket with about three seconds remaining. Galletta used all of his 6-7 frame to knock down Okantey's shot creating a scramble on the right side of the basket. Okantey somehow came up with the loose ball and put up a desperation shot that missed the rim as time expired.

Up by 11 with 12:05 left to play, the Dutchmen held the Lasers scoreless for the next 4:28 while increasing their advantage to a game-high 16 points, 65-49, with 8:44 left to play on C.J. Rodgers' free throw. Instead of throwing in the towel, the Lasers went on a 23-10 run that brought their vocal following to life and almost sent the Dutchmen to one of the worst defeats in their 104-year basketball history. In the end, though, neither team scored in the final 2:08 as Vance Johnson's three-point field goal was the last basket scored and rounded out the final margin.

Union's solid free throw shooting lifted the Dutchmen to a 38-36 lead at the half. The hosts connected on nine of their 11 charity shots while Lasell did not even make it to the line. The Lasers, who shot 57.1% in the first half (16-for-28) and 52.6% for the game (30-for-57), finished with eight more field goals than the Dutchmen, who finished with a 23-7 advantage from the stripe. The first 20 minutes was a see-saw affair that featured four ties and seven lead changes. It was a jumper by Rodgers with one second left that gave Union its halftime advantage.

The start of the second half saw Union junior forward Phil Henry score seven points and hand out two assists in the first 3:01 as Union built a 49-42 lead on a 3-point basket by Galletta. Jason Manning's jumper with 15:27 left gave Union its first double-digit advantage of the contest, 54-44, before Henry scored the Dutchmen's next six points to give the hosts a 13 point margin, 60-47 with 12:14 left to play.

Galletta finished with a game-high 21 points while Henry had 17, Rodgers 15 (with 12 rebounds) and forward Adam Polansky contributing 10. Perhaps the biggest contribution came from Manning, the Dutchmen's point guard who had only one turnover despite full court pressure by Lasell throught the game. Manning finished with eight points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal in 34 minutes.

Okantey led the Lasers with 19 points while Evan Cazeau had 17 and Vance Johnson 10.

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