No. 16 Men's Basketball Scorches Southern Vermont, 123-88

MEN'S BASKETBALL SCORCHES SOUTHERN VERMONT, 123-88

Box score

CHICOPEE, MA, Jan. 17, 2009 - Junior guard Juan Galdon (Holyoke, MA) netted a team-high 27 points and five players reach double figures as No. 16 Elms College pulled away to a convincing 123-88 win over Southern Vermont College in Saturday's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's basketball game at the Maguire Center.

The Blazers continued their best start in program-history and improved to 13-1 overall and remained atop the NECC standings a 3-0. Southern Vermont (4-7, 1-2 NECC) lost for the third time in four games.

The Blazers' 123 points ranked as the second-highest output in the team's 11-year history and was just six short of the program-record set in a 129-47 win over Becker in 2006.

Junior forward Joe Karnik (Castleton, NY) did his best to keep the Mountaineers close for awhile, as he poured in a game and season-high 34 points, including 19 on 8 of 11 shooting in the first half to keep Southern Vermont down just 55-47 at intermission.

The Blazers led 81-63 with 13:07 remaining, but Karnik scored five of the Mountaineers' next six points in a 6-0 run over the next 49 seconds that pulled the visitors to within 81-69.

Senior forward Antoine Holder (Hartford, CT) answered with a 3-pointer, and following a Southern Vermont turnover, Galdon knocked down a jumper to extend the Blazers' lead to 86-69 and end the threat of a comeback by the Mountaineers.

The Blazers shot 56.0-percent for the game, including a sizzling 60.9-percent (28 of 46) in the second half.

Southern Vermont was also hot from the field, as it shot 56.6-percent for the game, but was plagued by 41 turnovers.

Elms College's proved too much for the opposition, as the Blazers non-starters outscored the Mountaineers' bench players by a staggering 65-4 margin.

Holder finished 6 of 9 from the field for 15 points, including three 3-pointers, in just 15 minutes of action.  Junior forward Javon Mathis (West Hartford, CT) had 14 points  and six rebounds in 18 minutes, senior forward Ronald Thomas (Chicago, IL) finished with 13 points in 13 minutes and senior guard Aswad Thomas (Hartford, CT) added 10 points, and game-highs of eight steals and seven assists in the winning effort.

Three other players reached double figures for the Mountaineers, as freshman forward Cameron Herrington (Cambridge, NY) scored 18 points, while freshman forward Ben Naaktgeboren (Cambridge, NY) and sophomore guard Brendan Kordana (Adams, MA) finished with 15 points apiece.

Elms College returns to NECC play at Lesley University on Tuesday, January 20. Game time is 8:00 p.m.