No. 25 Men's Basketball Wins Blazer Tip-Off Tournament

NO. 25 MEN'S BASKETBALL DOWNS SPRINGFIELD, 73-63
IN BLAZER TIP-OFF TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Saturday, November 15
Elms College defeats Regis, 83-66  Box score
Springfield defeats Castleton, 71-61  Box score 

Sunday, November 16
Consolation Game: Regis defeats Castleton, 84-73   Box score
Championship Game: Elms College defeats Springfield, 73-63  Box score

CHICOPEE, MA, Nov. 16, 2008 - Senior forward Ronald Thomas (Chicago, IL) sophomore guard Dan Gonzalez (East Windsor, CT) and junior forward Javon Mathis (West Hartford, CT) all scored 12 points apiece to lead a balanced offensive attack to lift No. 25 Elms College to a thrilling 73-63 men's basketball win over Springfield College in Sunday's championship game of the Blazer Tip-Off Tournament at the Maguire Center.

Elms College senior point guard Aswad Thomas (Hartford, CT) earned Tournament Most Valuable Player honors as he finished with six points, a game-high six assists and a team-high eight rebounds.

In the two games of the tournament, Thomas registered a combined 18 steals and 16 assists.

The Blazers (2-0) led just 44-38 with 13:52 remaining then went on a 14-4 run over the next 3:54, as Gonzalez delivered a pair of layups to help key the spurt.

From there, Springfield (1-1) was never able to draw closer than seven for the remainder of the game.

Junior guard Ryan Blackmon (Stamford, CT) dropped in a game-high 19 points in 36 minutes for the Pride, who committed 32 turnovers.

Senior forward Malakie Berry (Enfield, CT), senior guard Ellis Jones (Roxbury, MA) and junior guard Juan Galdon (Holyoke, MA) all finished with nine points apiece for Elms College, which held a huge 47-3 advantage in bench scoring.

Junior forward Pat Crean (Sleepy Hollow, NY) scored 18 points and hauled in nine rebounds, while senior center John Strawson (Torrington, CT) added 11 points as the other two Springfield players to reach double figures.

Sunday's game marked the first-ever meeting between Blazers and Pride.

REGIS 84, CASTLETON 73

Freshman guard Tom Hughes (London, England) netted a game-high 17 points and the Pride (1-1) placed four players in double figures en route to victory in the consolation game.

Regis raced out to a commanding 52-37 lead at intermission behind 52.5-percent shooting (21 for 40) in the first half, including a sizzling 8 for 13 from 3-point range.

Sophomore guard Jimmy Irmiter (Chicago, IL) tossed in 16 points, as he connected on 4 of 10 from beyond the arc for the Pride.

Regis' defense also forced Castleton into 23 turnovers and held big advantages in both bench scoring (45-25) and points off turnovers (23-8).

Sophomore forward Marcus Haas (East Montpelier, VT) posted the game's only double-double with a game-high 17 points and 13 rebounds for Castleton (0-2) in the losing effort.

Sophomore guard Seth Harrington (North Bennington, VT) and junior forward Rubin Jennings (Hempstead, NY) finished with 12 points apiece, while senior guard Kevin Cayea (Red Hook, NY) added 11 points to also reach double figures for the Spartans.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Marcus Hass (Castleton), Derrick Neal (Regis), John Strawson (Springfield), Ryan Blackmon (Springfield), Ronald Thomas (Elms College)

TOURNAMENT MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Aswad Thomas (Elms College)