Montclair State Sneaks By Men’s Basketball, 65-63

Box Score

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Elms College senior point guard Juan Maldonado (Holyoke, Mass.) led four Blazers in double figures with 14 points, but a pair of free throws and a blocked shot by Montclair State University’s Sean Young (Scotch Plains, N.J.) sealed a hard-fought 65-63 victory for the Red Hawks in the opening game of the 2010 Sig Makofski’s men’s basketball tournament hosted by Union College.

With the loss, Elms moves to 6-3 on the season and will face Union College in Tuesday’s consolation game at 6:00 p.m. Montclair State improves to 9-3 overall and will play Gordon College in the Sig Makofski championship game at 8:00 p.m.

Deadlocked at 61-61 with 2:10 remaining in the contest, Elms’ sophomore guard Bryant Corcoran (Wolcott, Conn.) drained a jumper to give the Blazers a 63-61 edge. The Red Hawks answered thanks to a bucket by Ali Mix (East Orange, N.J.), knotting the game at 63-63 with 1:42 left. Young then delivered two free throws with 33 seconds on the clock, giving Montclair State a slim 65-63 advantage. Young then came through with a blocked shot with time expiring to preserve the thrilling victory for the Red Hawks.

Elms’ junior forward Edgar Martinez (Springfield, Mass.) and freshman guard Brittain Purcelle (Tarrytown, N.Y.) finished with 13 points each while Corcoran netted 12 to round out the Blazers’ four players in double-digits. Maldonado added five steals in addition to his team-high 14 points.

Montclair State was led by Daniel McRae (Orange, N.J.), who dropped in a game-high 15 points, grabbed a game-best nine rebounds and swatted three shots. Mix added 11 points, while Young and David McDaniel (Plainfield, N.J.) contributed 10 each in the winning effort.

Trailing by three at halftime, the Red Hawks evened the game at 35-35 following a trey by Ken Dudley (Willingboro, N.J.) just 1:02 into the second stanza. Montclair State then scored 12 of the next 19 points to post a five-point 47-42 lead, its largest of the contest at the 13:32 mark.

A jumper by Maldonado with 8:18 remaining gave Elms a 54-51 lead before a 6-0 run by the Red Hawks, highlighted by three baskets from Young gave Montclair State a 57-54 advantage at the 6:15 mark. The Blazers then responded with a 7-4 run tying the game at 61-61 with 3:29 left in the contest.

Elms’ senior forwards Javon Mathis (East Hartford, Conn.) and Austin Sylvia (Seekonk, Mass.) hauled in a team-high six rebounds each, while Sylvia and Martinez blocked a pair of shots in the losing effort.

The Blazers dashed to an 8-2 lead to start the contest and led by as many as seven (16-9) at the 14:00 minute mark.

A 10-2 run by Montclair State gave the Red Hawks their first lead of the contest at 19-18 with 11:31 remaining in the opening frame.

Elms pulled ahead on a Martinez three-pointer and maintained its lead throughout the rest of the first period, taking a three-point 35-32 cushion into the break.