Men’s Basketball Tames Lesley, 71-64

Box Score

CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College senior point guard Juan Maldonado (Holyoke, Mass.) netted 17 second-half points to lead four Blazers in double figures in a 71-64 victory over Lesley University in Tuesday evening’s New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men’s basketball game at Picknelly Arena.

With the win, Elms improves to 8-4 on the season, 2-0 in league action, while Lesley slips to 4-9 overall, 1-1 in conference play.

With Elms leading 33-31 just 2:16 into the second period, Maldonado went off for 13 straight points hitting three consecutive treys before converting a layup and a pair of free throws to give Elms a 46-33 advantage at the 13:19 mark.

A 7-3 run by Lesley pulled the Lynx to within nine at 49-40 and they again pulled to within nine at 56-47 with 7:06 remaining in the game.

A three-pointer from freshman guard Brittain Purcelle (Tarrytown, N.Y.), a pair of baskets from junior guard Edgar Martinez (Springfield, Mass.), and two free throws each from Maldonado and sophomore guard Bryant Corcoran (Wolcott, Conn.) highlighted an 11-5 stretch that extended the Blazers lead to 15 points (67-54) at the 2:50 mark.

The Lynx responded with a quick 8-2 run on the strength of six points from Jesus Trejo (Methuen, Mass.) and a pair of John Sanchez (Carson, Calif.) free throws to cut the gap to seven with 44 ticks remaining. From there, Maldonado added two more free throws and Trejo scored the Lynx’s final bucket to give Elms a 71-64 victory.

The sides played a tightly contested first stanza, as Lesley broke out to an early 6-2 lead. Elms answered with baskets by Purcelle and Corcoran to tie the contest at 6-6, and a tip-in by Martinez on a missed three-pointer by Corcoran gave the Blazers its first lead of the game.

Lesley tied the contest twice more in the stanza but could not regain the lead, as Elms maintained its edge throughout the rest of half and the contest.

Maldonado was an impressive 3 of 4 from beyond the arc and a perfect 6 for 6 at the line en route to his 17 points. Corcoran finished with 14 points and added eight assists in the winning effort.

Martinez and freshman guard Andre French (Torrington, Conn.) added 10 points each to round out the Blazers’ four players with double-digit outputs. Martinez added a team-high nine rebounds and three swats, while French collected three steals off the bench.

Trejo paced the Lesley offense with a 16-point, 16-rebound effort to highlight four Lynx in double figures.

Alexander Green III (Baton Rouge, La.) added 14 points and four steals, while Matt Grassa (Everett, Mass.) and Bryant Itonyo (Medford, Mass.) chipped in 13 and 12 points apiece in the loss.

Elms returns to NECC action at Becker College on Saturday, Jan. 16. Game time is set for 3:00 p.m. in Leicester, Mass.