No. 12 Men’s Basketball Tops Southern Vermont
No. 12 Men's Basketball Tops Southern Vermont, 98-73
BENNINGTON, VT, Feb. 17, 2009 - Five players scored in double-figures to lead No. 12 Elms College to a convincing 98-73 victory at Southern Vermont College Tuesday night in a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's basketball contest.
The Blazers improved to 21-1 overall and 12-0 in the NECC with their 12th consecutive win and clinched the first-ever NECC regular season title, while the Mountaineers fell to 7-16 overall and 4-8 in conference play.
Junior guard Juan Galdon (Holyoke, MA) led Elms with 16 points, seven assists and three steals and senior guard Aswad Thomas (Hartford, CT) came just short of the triple-double with 14 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and five steals. Sophomore guard Dan Gonzalez (east Windsor, CT) added 14 points, while senior forward Ronald Thomas (Chicago, IL) and junior forward Javon Mathis (West Hartford, CT) contributed 10 points each.
Junior forward Joe Karnik (Castleton, NY) led Southern Vermont with game-high totals of 18 points and 15 rebounds. Freshman forward Ben Naaktgeboren (Cambridge, NY) netted 17 points with five boards and three assists and freshman guard Jaret Falkowitz (Scotia, NY) added 15 points with five rebounds and three assists.
The two teams took turns with the lead in the opening 12 minutes of the first half and the Blazers trailed by two, 29-27, before going on a 14-0 run to take the lead for good in the game. Elms led 49-40 at the break and used a 13-4 run over the first 3:39 of the second half to open a commanding 62-44 lead.
The Blazers later went on an 18-5 run to make it an 82-52 advantage and put the game out of reach.
Elms shot 51.3 percent (40-78) from the floor and 38.5 percent (10-26) from beyond the arc in the game, while the Mountaineers shot 41.9 percent (26-62) from the field and 33.3 percent (6-18) from downtown.
The Blazers return to action Thursday when they host Lesley in a NECC contest. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m. at the Maguire Center.