Men’s Basketball Tames Wheelock, 86-69

Box Score

CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College junior forward Edgar Martinez (Springfield, Mass.) poured in a game-high 19 points and senior point guard Juan Maldonado (Holyoke, Mass.) added 18 to help secure a 86-69 victory over Wheelock College in Tuesday evening’s New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men’s basketball game at Picknelly Arena.

With the win, Elms improves to 9-5 on the season, 3-1 league play, while Wheelock drops to 9-5 overall, 2-2 in NECC action.

Trailing 42-32 at halftime, Wheelock scored 13 of the first 23 points of the second period to pull to within seven at 52-45 at the 16:13 mark. A three-pointer from freshman guard Andre French (Torrington, Conn.) sparked a 22-12 run for Elms, highlighted by a pair of treys from Maldonado, four points by sophomore guard Bryant Corcoran (Wolcott, Conn.), another three-pointer for French, and a bucket each from senior forward Javon Mathis (East Hartford, Conn.), junior guard Robert Hargrove (Detroit, Mich.) and Martinez to give the Blazers a 74-57 cushion with 8:43 remaining in the contest.

The Wildcats’ Dan Main (Hopedale, Mass.) and Eric Rice (Woburn, Mass.) each knocked down a basket to cut Wheelock’s deficit to 13 points at 74-61 with 7:39 to go. From there, Elms maintained at least a 15-point margin and used an 11-3 run to post its largest lead of the game of 85-64 at the 2:23 mark before completing its 86-69 victory.

Martinez scored 15 of his game-high 19 points in the first half, helping Elms to a 13-point advantage on four occasions during the opening period.

Corcoran finished with 13 points and tied with Mathis in rebounds (7). French net ted 11 points off the bench for the Blazers, including three from beyond the arc and a pair of free throws.

Maldonado drained four three-pointers and hustled for four steals in the win.

Wheelock was led by Sherard Robbins (Malden, Mass.) who downed 18 points on 8 of 13 shooting, while Main added 17 points on 8 of 12 from the field in the losing effort.

The Wildcats also received 12 points from Bashir Hudson (Boston, Mass.), and a game-best eight boards from Robbins.

Elms returns to NECC action on Thursday, Jan. 21 when it travels to Mitchell College. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. in New London, Conn.