Men’s Basketball Surges Past Brooklyn, 97-89

Box Score

CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College senior point guard Juan Maldonado (Holyoke, Mass.) poured in a game-high 25 points and five other Blazers scored in double-digits to help secure a hard-fought 97-89 victory over Brooklyn College in the final game of the 2009 Blazer Tip-Off Tournament hosted by Elms College.

With the win, Elms improves to 3-0 on the season, while Brooklyn falls to 1-1 overall.

Elms stormed out of the gate, posting a 10-2 lead in the opening 2:48 behind three-pointers from sophomore guard Bryant Corcoran (Wolcott, Conn.) and freshman guard Brittain Purcelle (Tarrytown, N.Y.), and a bucket each from junior forward Edgar Martinez (Springfield, Mass.) and senior forward Javon Mathis (East Hartford, Conn.).

Brooklyn used a 6-0 run to cut the gap to two (10-8), before a 7-6 run by the Bridges brought Brooklyn to within one at 16-15. Elms’ junior forward Juan Alverio (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico) nailed two free throws to extend the lead to three, before freshman guard Andre French (Torrington, Conn.) connected on a three-pointer, and then delivered a fast-break basket off a steal to put the Blazers up eight. Amil John (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored a hoop to break up the five-point run, but Maldonado put the Blazers up nine when he hit from beyond the arc to set the score at 25-16 with 10:12 to go in the first period.

Elms never allowed Brooklyn to get closer than four points for the remainder of the half, and led by as many as 11 on two separate occasions, posting a 50-43 lead at intermission.

The Blazers started the second stanza much like they did the first, using a 15-7 run over the first 4:17 to stake a 65-50 advantage, its largest lead of the contest.

Following its 15-point lead, Elms maintained at least an eight-point cushion and led by as many as 12 two times to seal the victory. Brooklyn never led in the contest and tied it only once (2-2 in the first period).

Mathis was a force on both ends of the court, posting a 14-point, 15-rebound double-double, while Alverio hauled in 11 rebounds and added 11 points for his first double-double of the season.

French finished with 15 points, while Corcoran and Martinez collected 10 points each. Corcoran helped pace the Blazers’ offense, handing out three assists, while six other players added two.

The Blazers shot 45.1 percent for the game and 45.8 percent from three-point range (11-24) as Maldonado, Corcoran, Martinez and junior Robert Hargrove (Detroit, Mich.) drained two treys each.

The Bridges were led by Tyshawn Russell (Jamaica, N.Y.) who netted a team-high 20 points. Richard Jean-Baptiste (Queens, N.Y.) added 19 while Darnell Cudjoe (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored 16 points and added four blocked shots. Daniel Nisbett (Staten Island, N.Y.) and Ahmad Hemingway (Brooklyn, N.Y.) contributed 11 and 10 points respectively in the losing effort.

Elms returns to the hardwood on Tuesday, Dec. 1 when they travel to Western New England College (WNEC) for a 6:00 p.m. game.

2009 Men’s Basketball Blazer Tip-Off All-Tournament Team

Most Valuable Player:

Juan Maldonado (Elms) finished with 36 total points for the tournament and was a perfect 9 for 9 from the stripe.

All-Tournament Team:

Javon Mathis (Elms), Tyshawn Russell (Brooklyn), Darnell Cudjoe (Brooklyn), Darrell Mills (Arcadia), Tyler Blier (Mitchell).