Men’s Basketball Runs Past Mitchell College, 98-84

Box Score

NEW LONDON, Conn. – Elms College senior forward Antoine Holder (Hartford, Conn.) and junior guard Robert Hargrove (Detroit, Mich.) each netted a team-high 15 points off the bench to help guide the Blazers to a 98-84 victory over Mitchell College in Thursday evening’s New England Collegiate Conference men’s basketball game.

Elms has now won four of its last five contests to improve to 10-5 on the season, 4-1 in league play. With the loss, Mitchell falls to 2-11 overall, 1-4 in NECC action.

Mitchell posted a 14-8 lead in the opening 3:50 before layups by junior forward Juan Alverio (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico), senior point guard Juan Maldonado (Holyoke, Mass.) and Holder knotted the game at 14-14 with 14:36 remaining in the opening period.

With the score even at 16-16, the Blazers scored 15 of the next 21 points behind four points from junior forward Edgar Martinez (Springfield, Mass.), a trey from Hargrove, and two points each from Maldonado, Holder, senior forward Austin Sylvia (Seekonk, Mass.) and sophomore guard Luis Santiago (San Juan, Puerto Rico), giving Elms a 31-22 lead with 7:40 to go in the frame.

Mitchell’s Mike DePaolo (Asbury, N.J.) hit a jumper and a three-pointer, and Eric Murray (Bridgeport, Conn.) converted a layup to bring the Mariners to within three at 32-29 with 6:14 on the clock. Elms then used an 18-2 run to post a 50-33 advantage at the 1:58 mark of the first period, and took a 52-37 lead into the intermission.

Trailing 49-66 with 14:26 to go in the second stanza, Mitchell’s Drew Norris (Wilson, N.C.) nailed a jumper and Tyler Blier (Wolcott, Conn.) swished a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to 13 at the 13:31 mark.

The Blazers exploded for 21 of the next 29 points to post a 26-point, 87-61 lead at the 9:19 mark. Hargrove drained three from beyond the arc during the run to help lift Elms to its largest lead of the game.

From there, Elms maintained at least a 14-point cushion en route to the 98-84 victory.

Martinez finished with 12 points, while freshman guard Brittain Purcelle (Tarrytown, N.Y.) netted 10 on 4 of 7 shooting from the field.

Senior forward Javon Mathis (East Hartford, Conn.) and Sylvia scored eight points each in the win, while Holder grabbed a game-high seven rebounds.

Nine of Hargrove’s 15 points came in the second half, all by way of the three-pointer, while Maldonado handed out five assists to help pace the offense.

DePaolo poured in a game-high 18 points for the Mariners, while Murray finished with 16 points. Norris and Blier totaled 14 and 11 points respectively in the losing effort.

Elms returns to conference action on Saturday, Jan. 23 when it travels to Bennington, V.T. to take on Southern Vermont College. Game-time is slated for 3:00 p.m.