No. 2 Men’s Basketball Fends Off No. 6 Husson University, 68-64 In ECAC Semifinal

Box Score

WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Elms College senior point guard Juan Maldonado (Holyoke, Mass.) scored a team-high 16 points and sophomore guard Bryant Corcoran (Wolcott, Conn.) collected a steal and drained a clutch free throw with less than 10 seconds to play to help lift the second-seeded Blazers to a thrilling 68-64 victory over No. 6 Husson University to punch their ticket to the 2010 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament championship game.

With the win, Elms improves to 23-6 on the season and will face top-seed and host Eastern Connecticut State University in the title game on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. The Warriors topped fourth-seeded Becker College, 75-71 to earn their spot in the championship contest. Husson, meanwhile, concludes its season 16-12 overall.

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Trailing 65-60 with 57 seconds to play in the game, Husson’s Jay Uhrin (Winterport, Maine) converted a pair of free throws to pull the Eagles to within three at 65-62. Blazers’ freshman guard Brittain Purcelle (Tarrytown, N.Y.) then hit the back end of two free throws to give Elms a 66-62 lead with 44 seconds remaining before Uhrin struck from the top of the key to trim the deficit to two at 66-64 with 20 ticks on the clock. Elms’ junior guard Arsenio Avant (Southwest, Fla.) nailed the second of two from the stripe to set the score at 67-64. Corcoran then forced a turnover with eight seconds left and swished the second of two free throws to seal the victory.

Elms, who led by as many as 16 just four minutes into the second period, maintained at least an eight-point cushion until Husson used an 8-0 run to narrow a 13-point deficit at the 10:33 mark (53-40) to a five-point deficit (53-48) with 8:24 to play in the contest. Uhrin delivered a pair of free throws and Phillip Leighton (Naples, Maine) and Joshua Jones (Jefferson, Maine) each sank a three-pointer to highlight the run for the Eagles.

Four minutes later, Husson’s Brock Bradford (Kenduskeag, Maine) netted a layup to pull the Eagles to within two at 60-58 with 4:23 remaining in the game. Elms’ senior forward Javon Mathis (East Hartford, Conn.) and Husson’s Matt MacKenzie (Warren, Maine) traded baskets underneath to keep the Blazers’ lead at two (62-60), before a Purcelle layup and a free throw by junior forward Juan Alverio (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico) extended the edge to five (65-60) with 1:14 to play. From there, Elms was able to hold off the Eagles’ final attempts to come all the way back.

Elms got off to a fast start and posted a 26-17 with 5:12 to play in the opening half. Elms continued the offensive outburst, scoring 11 of the next 13 points to mount a commanding 37-19 lead with 3:17 to play in the period. Purcelle hit two from the stripe, senior forward Antoine Holder (Hartford, Conn.) swished a pair of free throws and added a layup, while Alverio added a bucket in the paint, and Maldonado knocked down a trey during the stretch.

Uhrin nailed a three-pointer with 2:33 to spark a 10-3 run by the Eagles to close out the half, capped by a trey from Eric Modica with 10 seconds to go in the half to set the score at 40-29 at intermission.

Purcelle finished with 14 points, while Holder and Mathis chimed in with 13 and 11 respectively. Mathis hauled in a team-high 12 boards, while Alverio registered 10 rebounds and two blocked shots in the winning effort. Holder added eight boards off the bench.

Husson was led by Uhrin’s game-high 18 points, while Bradford and Jones struck for 15 and 10 respectively. Jones also secured a game-best 15 boards, while Bradford handed out a game-high 5 assists.

Husson shot 35.7-percent from the floor, while Elms was held to just 34.7 percent from the field.