Elms College, Lesley Advance To NAC Championship

 ELMS COLLEGE, LESLEY UNIVERSITY
ADVANCE TO NAC MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

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CHICOPEE, MA, Feb. 29, 2008 - Elms College junior guard Aswad Thomas (Hartford, CT) registered game-highs with 19 points and five assists, and the Blazers used a big run over the final eight minutes of the first half to pull away to a 78-53 win over Becker in Friday night's North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Men's Basketball Tournament semifinals at the Maguire Center.

With the win, Elms College (21-6) advanced to its fourth straight NAC Tournament title game and will face Lesley University on Saturday, March 1 at 2:00 p.m.

Lesley (12-15) advanced to its first-ever NAC Tournament championship game with a 63-55 win over Husson (17-10) in Friday night's other semifinal.

Elms College and Lesley met just once in the regular season as the Blazers posted an 83-58 road win over the Lynx on February 13.

The winner of Saturday's game will earn the NAC's automatic qualifier into the upcoming NCAA Division III Championship.

ELMS COLLEGE 78, BECKER 53

Thomas dropped in 16 of his points in the opening 20 minutes for the Blazers, who erupted for a 22-8 run over the final 7:32 to build a commanding 49-31 lead at intermission.

Elms College, which forced Becker into 30 turnovers, held huge advantages in both points in the paint (38-24) and points off turnovers (36-11).

Senior forward Nate Hawes (New Hope, MN) finished with 13 points in just 16 minutes and junior guard Ellis Jones (Roxbury, MA) added a season-high 12 points off the bench as the other two Elms College players to reach double figures.

Freshman center Trey Jacobs (Lexington Park, MD) posted team-highs with 14 points and nine rebounds, and freshman guard Kevin Miranda (Brockton, MA) added 13 points for the Hawks, who finished 13-14.

A win by Elms College on Saturday would tie the school-record for wins in a season (22 set in 2005-06) and also set a new conference record for most tournament championships.

LESLEY 63, HUSSON 55

Senior guard Joe Chatman (Boston, MA) poured in a game-high 21 points, including 12 of 12 shooting from the free throw line to lead Lesley to its second win over Husson in 14 days.

The Lynx held a decisive 45-31 rebounding advantage and limited the Eagles to just 25.9-percent shooting (7 of 27) in the first half to take a 27-22 halftime lead.

Senior guard Mark Stevens (Las Vegas, NV) recorded the game's only double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, and freshman center Jesus Trejo (Methuen, MA) added six points and a game-high 12 rebounds in the winning effort.

Despite committing 21 turnovers, Lesley connected on 20 of 24 free throws and held the Eagles to 30.6-percent shooting for the game.

Senior guard Sheraud Lee (Bridgeport, CT) scored a team-high 17 points, including three 3-pointers, sophomore guard Brock Bradford (Kenduskeag, ME) finished with 13 points and sophomore forward Matt MacKenzie (Warren, ME) added 12 points to all finish in double figures for the Eagles in the loss.