Blazers Stumble At Mitchell

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Elms College men's basketball fell 86-58 at Mitchell College on Tuesday night in New England Collegiate Conference action at the Yarnall Athletic Center. 

Michal Ohradka (Feeding Hills, Mass./Agawam) finished with a game-high 16 points to pace Elms, which shot just 35 percent from the floor. Andre Peguero (Boynton Beach, Fla./Somerset Academy) chipped in with 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting. 

Four Mariners scored in double figures led by 15 points from Domenico Santiago (Port St. Lucie, Fla./Port St. Lucie), who also notched a double-double with a game-high 14 rebounds. Matt Finke (Wolcott, Conn./Wolcott) added a season-high 13 points to go with four assists while Hasani Williams (Miramar, Fla./Hallandale) contributed 12 points and eight boards. Steffen Brunson (West Haven, Conn./Hill Regional Career) tacked on 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals to round out Mitchell's top scorers. 

Mitchell, which never trailed in the contest, used an 11-0 run in the opening four minutes of the contest to go up by double digits. Finke supplied a three-pointer and a pair of assists during the stretch as the Mariners took command early. 

Despite the slow start, Elms battled back to cut the deficit to four by the midway point of the stanza. However, the Mariners used the rest of the half to build an even larger lead. A three-pointer by Finke with 5:07 to play put Mitchell up by double digits once again, sparking a 17-6 run to close the half and left the home team with a 46-26 lead at the break. 

Mitchell led by as many as 30 points in the second half en route to its first conference win of the season. The Mariners shot 46 percent for the game that included an 11-for-28 effort from beyond the arc. Finke and Landon Peabody (Waterford, Conn./Waterford) each supplied three treys in the game while Brunson and Connel Henderson (Old Saybrook, Conn./Old Saybrook) both added a pair.  

Mitchell (2-3 overall, 1-1 NECC) will next host Coast Guard Academy on Saturday, December 8 at 2 p.m. Elms (0-8 overall, 0-1 NECC) returns to action at Southern Vermont College on Saturday at 1 p.m.