Purcelle Nets 25 To Help Lift Men’s Basketball To 69-63 Overtime Win Over Wheaton College

Box Score

NORTON, Mass. – Elms College sophomore guard Brittain Purcelle (Tarrytown, N.Y.) scored a game-high 25 points including eight in overtime to help lift the Blazers to a 69-63 victory over Wheaton College in Tuesday evening's non-conference men's basketball game at Emerson Gymnasium in Norton, Mass.

With the win, Elms snaps its two-game losing slide to improve to 4-2 on the season while Wheaton remains winless on the season at 0-6.

Trailing 57-56 with 2:31 to play in overtime, Elms' senior guard Arsenio Avant (Southwest Ranches, Fla.) corralled a rebound off a missed three-point attempt and nailed a jumper to put the Blazers ahead 58-57. Purcelle hit a jumper on Elms' next possession to put the Blazers ahead 60-57 before Anthony Coppola (Watertown, Mass.) drew a foul and swished both free throws to pull Wheaton back to within one at 60-59 with 1:23 to play in the extra period. From there, Elms scored nine of the final 13 points highlighted by a three-pointer and a free throw from Purcelle, a trio of foul shots by Avant, and two free throws by freshman guard Jordan Robinson (Plainsboro, N.J.) to seal the 69-63 victory.

Avant finished with five points off the bench for the Blazers while senior forward Juan Alverio (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico) delivered a 12-point, 16-rebound and five-block performance.

In the opening 20 minutes the sides played to five ties and neither team held more than a five-point advantage as Elms took a 26-22 lead at halftime.

Elms opened the second half when junior guard Daniel Gonzalez (East Windsor, Conn.) hit a pair of free throws 11 seconds in to the stanza to give the Blazers a 28-22 lead it's largest of the game. One minute and nine seconds later sophomore center Carson Miller (New Oxford, Pa.) converted a layup to set the score at 31-25 before Wheaton roared back with a 23-8 run to post a nine-point 48-39 lead with 6:52 remaining in the contest.

A pair of jumpers by Alverio, a bucket from Purcelle and a basket from junior guard Bryant Corcoran (Wolcott, Conn.) pulled the Blazers to within one at 48-47 at the 4:50 mark before a jumper by Purcelle 1:47 later put Elms in the lead at 51-50. The sides exchanged leads twice more before the Lyons' Brian Johnson (Roxbury, Mass.) hit the front end of two free throws to even the game at 53-53 with 13 seconds to play. Following a timeout by Elms, Johnson missed the second free throw forcing the extra frame.

Coppola led three Wheaton players in double figures with 24 points while Anthony Weeks (Fitchburg, Mass.) connected for 13 points and 10 rebounds. Johnson added 10 points in the losing effort for the Lyons.

Miller and freshman guard David McDaniel (Plainfield, N.J.) added four points and three blocks each, while Corcoran totaled six points to help secure the win for Elms.

Elms returns to action Saturday, Dec. 11 when it competes in the Coaches Vs. Cancer Tournament hosted by Worcester State University. The Blazers will take on Buffalo State College at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday.