Men's Basketball Rolls Past Wheelock, 108-77
MEN'S BASKETBALL ROLLS PAST WHEELOCK, 108-77
CHICOPEE, MA, Dec. 8, 2007 - Elms College sophomore point guard Juan Galdon (Holyoke, MA) poured in a game-high 31 points and the Blazers had 13 players reach the scoring column en route to a 108-77 win over Wheelock College in Saturday's North Atlantic Conference (NAC) men's basketball opener for both teams at the Maguire Center.
Elms College continued its best start in the program's history, as it won its third straight and improved to 7-1 overall, 1-0 NAC.
Wheelock, in its first intercollegiate season, lost its fourth straight and fell to 1-7, 0-1 NAC.
Galdon, who has recorded career-best point totals in four of the Blazers' first eight games, shot 12 of 16 from the field, including a sizzling 7 of 8 from 3-point range in just 20 minutes. Saturday also marked the second 30-plus point effort for Galdon in the last four games. He registered a collegiate career-best 36 points in the Blazers 113-109 loss at Colby on December 1.
Freshman center Juan Alverio (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico) put in 17 points on 8 of 12 shooting in only 20 minutes, senior guard Randy Hite (Hartford, CT) tallied 13 points in 17 minutes and freshman guard Dan Gonzalez (East Windsor, CT) added a collegiate career-high 12 points, including three 3-pointers for the Blazers.
Elms College forced 16 first half turnovers and led 62-39 at intermission thanks in large part to its bench, which outscored Wheelock's bench players 31-8 in the opening 20 minutes.
The Wildcats received an outstanding team-high 27-point effort from freshman forward Alex Thayer (Seekonk, MA), who shot 11 of 15 from the field in 34 minutes.
Elms College returns to non-conference play against Hamilton at the Randolph-Macon Christmas Classic on Saturday, December 29. Game time is 4:00 p.m.