Men’s Basketball Downs Worcester State University, 60-55

Box Score

WORCESTER, Mass. – Elms College sophomore guard Brittain Purcelle (Tarrytown, N.Y.) swished a game-high 18 points to help lift the Blazers to a 60-55 victory over Worcester State University in Sunday afternoon's Coaches Vs. Cancer consolation men's basketball game hosted by Worcester State.

With the win, Elms improves to 5-3 on the season while Worcester State falls to 1-8 overall.

Trailing 50-49 with 7:13 to play in the contest, Elms' sophomore forward David McDaniel (Plainfield, N.J.) nailed a jumper that sparked a 10-1 run by the Blazers, highlighted by a three-pointer by junior guard Bryant Corcoran (Wolcott, Conn.), a jumper by senior guard Arsenio Avant (Southwest Ranches, Fla.) and capped by a trey from senior forward Juan Alverio (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico) to give Elms a 58-51 lead with 3:35 to play in the game.

Back-to-back layups by Worcester State's Frank Stephenson (Fall River, Mass.) and Emmanuel Ferraud (Worcester, Mass.) pulled the Lancers to within three at 58-55 with 1:18 remaining in the period, but a pair of free throws by Purcelle with six ticks on the clock sealed the victory for the Blazers.

Purcelle's 18 points for the contest came on 7 of 18 shooting from the field and a perfect 4 for 4 effort from the free throw line.

Alverio earned his fifth double-double of the season netting 13 points and grabbing 11 boards in addition to blocking four Worcester State shots. For his efforts, Alverio was named to the Coaches Vs. Cancer all-tournament team.

Avant and Corcorcan notched four steals each and finished with eight and six points respectively in the win, while Avant accounted for eight rebounds as well.

The game opened in back-and-forth fashion as neither team gained more than a three-point advantage over the first 16:32.

Trailing by one at 19-18, Lancers' Clayton Timas (New Bedford, Mass.) delivered a dunk that ignited a run of eight straight points for Worcester State that established a 26-19 lead with 4:04 to play in the first period.

Elms' junior guard Daniel Gonzalez (East Windsor, Conn.) converted a layup underneath that started an 8-1 run for the Blazers that evened the contest at 27-27 with 25 seconds to play before Dave Douillette (Bridgewater, Mass.) connected for a mid-range jumper with three seconds to play to give Worcester State a 29-27 edge at halftime.

Elms controlled play throughout much of the second half, posting its largest lead of the game (10 points – 46-36) at the 11:40 mark following a pair of Purcelle free throws.

Worcester State answered with a 13-2 run to take a brief one-point lead at 49-48 with 7:34 to play before the Blazers delivered their final salvo.

Monte Goodwin (Milford, Mass.) led Worcester State in defeat, tying with Purcelle for a game-high 18 points and hauling in a game-best 13 rebounds.

Stephenson added 12 points, while Timas and Douillette chimed in with 12 and 11 boards respectively. Douillette added nine points and four steals, while Timas totaled eight points to highlight the Lancers' losing effort.

Elms returns to action on Jan. 2 at the Purple and Gold Invitational hosted by Williams College. The Blazers will take on Clarkson University on Jan. 2 at 4:00 p.m. and will play host Williams on Jan. 3 at 7:00 p.m.