Men's Basketball Falls At St. Lawrence In NCAA Division III Championship, 85-79

MEN'S BASKETBALL FALLS AT ST. LAWRENCE 85-79 
IN FIRST ROUND OF NCAA DIVISION III CHAMPIONSHIP 

CANTON, NY, March 2, 2007 - Senior guard David Williams (Hartford, CT) netted a team-high 23 points, but St. Lawrence University jumped out to a 17-point halftime lead then held off a furious second half rally by the Blazers to post an 85-79 win in Friday night's first round of the 2007 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship at the Augsbury Center.

With the loss, Elms College is eliminated and concluded its third consecutive 20-plus win season at 20-9 overall.

St. Lawrence (23-5), meanwhile advances to Saturday night's second round to face SUNY-Brockport, which defeated Williams College 74-66 in Friday night's other first round game at Canton, New York.

The Blazers trailed by 21 (60-39) with 13:34 left in the game before rallying behind a 29-12 run, capped off by sophomore guard Joe Esile's (Milford, CT) 3-pointer to pull to within 72-68 with 3:41 remaining.

Williams drained a deep 3-pointer to draw the Blazers to within 73-71. The two teams traded baskets on their next two possessions, making it a 75-73 game with 2:38 to play.

The Saints called a timeout, and out of the huddle, sophomore forward Rich Williams (Kingston, NY) put in two quick layups to build his team's lead to 77-73. With no timeouts remaining, the Blazers were forced to foul and the Saints hit eight free throws down the stretch to seal the game.

Freshman guard Juan Galdon (Holyoke, MA) finished with 16 points and sophomore forward Malakie Berry (Enfield, CT) added 11 points and 10 rebounds in the losing effort.

Williams led all scorers with a game-high 26 points and 12 rebounds, including 18 second half points for St. Lawrence in the victory.

Senior guard Matt Blue (Bellingham, MA) poured in 17 of his 24 points in the first half to stake the host Saints to a 45-28 lead at intermission.

St. Lawrence shot 58.8-percent from the field, including 66.7-percent from 3-point range over the game's opening 10 minutes.

For the half, the Saints shot 54.5-percent (18 of 33), including a sizzling 6 of 9 from beyond the arc.

The Blazers jumped out to 8-2 lead in the game's opening 2:46 before the Saints responded with a 23-8 run over the next 6:39 to take a 25-16 lead.

Elms College then answered with a 10-5 run to pull to within 30-26 with 6:02 left in the half.

The Saints, however, then closed the first half on a 15-2 run en route to their seemingly commanding 17-point lead at intermission.