No. 2 Men’s Basketball Surges Past No. 3 Wheelock College, 66-62

Click here for Box Score
Click here for directions to Becker College

LEICESTER, Mass. – The second-seeded Elms College men’s basketball team topped No. 3 Wheelock College 66-62, on Friday, to advance to the championship game of the 2009-10 New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Championship tournament.

With the win, Elms improves to 20-6 on the season, while Wheelock concludes its season 16-11 overall. The Blazers will take on top-seeded Becker College in the tournament title game on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 2:00 p.m. in Leicester, Mass. The Hawks punched their ticket to the finals with an 85-53 victory over No. 5 Lesley University.

Trailing 62-58 with 3:19 remaining in the contest, Elms’ senior forward Javon Mathis (East Hartford, Conn.) delivered a layup, and senior point guard Juan Maldonado (Holyoke, Mass.) then found freshman guard Brittain Purcelle (Tarrytown, N.Y.) for a jumper at the top of the key to knot the game at 62-62 with 1:22 to go in the game. From there, clutch free throw shooting by Maldonado and Purcelle secured the thrilling 66-62 victory for the Blazers.

In the opening 20 minutes, the sides played to six lead changes with neither team gaining more than a six-point lead.

Trailing 32-31 with 28 ticks remaining in the opening period, Wheelock’s Sherard Robbins (Malden, Mass.) swished a mid-range jumper to give the Wildcats a 33-32 edge at intermission. Robbins paced Wheelock with eight first-half points, while Elms’ junior forward Juan Alverio (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico) struck for eight points off the bench to lead the Blazers in the frame.

Maldonado and Mathis netted a team-high 14 points apiece, while Mathis grabbed a game-best nine rebounds to pace Elms in the winning effort.

Purcelle added 10 points to round out three Blazers in double figures, while Alverio rejected two shots in addition to his eight points.

Robbins led all scorers with 20 points and was the lone Wheelock player with a double-digit scoring output. Max Kaim (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) contributed five steals and seven points, while Kyle Pierce (Burlington, Mass.) and Dan Main (Hopedale, Mass.) netted eight points each.

Robbins also collected a team-high eight rebounds in the losing effort.