No. 16 Men's Basketball Locks Up Lesley, 72-37
NO. 16 ELMS COLLEGE LOCKS DOWN LESLEY, 72-37
CAMBRIDGE, MA, Jan. 20, 2009 - Junior guard Juan Galdon (Holyoke, MA) netted a team-high 11 points and No. 16 Elms College turned in a sensational defensive effort en route to a record-setting 72-37 win over Lesley University in Tuesday night's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's basketball game at Cambridge.
Elms College (14-1 overall, 4-0 NECC), ranked 16th nationally in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll, won its fourth straight and continued its best start in program-history.
Lesley lost its third straight and fell to 3-10, 0-3 NECC.
The Blazers' 37 points allowed marked the fewest in team-history, surpassing the previous record set in a 90-41 win over Mass College of Pharmacy in the team's inaugural season in 1998.
Although junior forward Javon Mathis (West Hartford, CT) was the only other player to reach double figures (10 points), a total of 13 players reached the score column for the Blazers.
Despite shooting 40.8-percent, including 34.9-percent in the second half, Elms College's defense was stifling, as Lesley was held to just 15 total field goals, including seven in the second half.
The Blazers led 37-19 at halftime by as many as 38 (69-31) with 5:31 left following a 32-12 run over the first 15 minutes of the second half.
Senior forward Antoine Holder (Hartford, CT) dropped in nine points, while senior guard Aswad Thomas (Hartford, CT) and freshman guard Luis Santiago (San Juan, Puerto Rico) added eight points apiece. Thomas also finished with a game-high six assists and six steals in the victory.
Elms College returns to NECC play at Wheelock on Saturday, January 24. Tip-off is 3:00 p.m.