No. 20 Men’s Basketball Downs No. 13 Amherst, 88-79

Box Score

CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College senior forward Javon Mathis (East Hartford, Conn.) poured in a game-high 22 points and added 10 rebounds to help lift the 20th-ranked Blazers to a thrilling 88-79 victory over No. 13 Amherst College in Friday night’s opening game of the Pioneer Valley Classic at Picknelly Arena hosted by Elms College.

With the win, Elms extends its winning streak to five games and moves to 5-0 on the season, while Amherst lost for the first time in the Pioneer Valley Classic (16-1) and the first time this season to slide to 3-1 overall.

The Blazers’ victory was the first-ever over Amherst, and was also the squad’s first victory over a ranked opponent since they topped No. 19 WPI on Dec. 14, 2008. Elms was ranked 16th in that contest.

Trailing 47-38 at halftime, Amherst started the second frame with a 10-4 run to pull to within three at 51-48 before Elms responded with a 10-0 run of its own. Mathis started the stretch with a layup, followed by a pair of free throws from junior guard Robert Hargrove (Detroit, Mich.). Senior point guard Juan Maldonado (Holyoke, Mass.) and freshman guard Andre French (Torrington, Conn.) each drained three-pointers to give the Blazers a 61-48 lead with 12:26 left in the contest.

The Lord Jeffs cut their deficit to five at 63-58 when Taylor Barrise (Allendale, N.J.) buried a trey at the 9:54 mark, but the Blazers quickly extended their lead back to 10 at 72-62 with 6:41 left.

French netted two of his six free throws at the 1:48 remaining to give Elms another 13-point lead at 77-64. Amherst rallied when Steven Wheeler (Bloomington, Minn.) hit from beyond the arc to start a 13-6 run over the next 1:16 to cut the lead to 83-77. Wheeler connected for two more three-pointers while Conor Meehan (Meriden, Conn.) added a pair of jumpers during the span.

From there, the Blazers took advantage of opportunities at the stripe as freshman guard Brittain Purcelle (Tarrytown, N.Y.) and French drained two free throws each, while senior forward Antoine Holder (Hartford, Conn.) added one to help seal the hard-fought victory.

Elms took an early 9-0 lead to start the game and didn’t relinquish the lead. Amherst tied the game once but could not push ahead.

The Lord Jeffs knotted the game at 25-25 with 7:23 remaining in the opening stanza but a 22-13 run gave Elms a 47-38 cushion at intermission.

Mathis scored 13 of his 22 points in the first half, while Maldonado added sev en of his 12 points during first period action.

Elms converted on 32 of 45 free throws for the game, as Purcelle went 9 for 10 from the stripe, while Mathis finished 10 of 16 from the line.

French finished with 12 points and was a perfect 6 of 6 from the free throw line, while Purcelle and Hargrove contributed 11 and 10 points respectively in the winning effort.

Meehan sparked Amherst’s offensive effort, scoring a team-best 21 points while handing out nine assists. Wheeler hit four treys and finished with 15 total points, while Barrise and Allen Williamson (Saugus, Mass.) added 10 points each in the loss.

Elms returns to Pioneer Valley Classic action on Saturday, Dec. 5 when it hosts Westfield State College. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. at Picknelly Arena.