Men’s Basketball Roars Past Lesley, 77-54

Box Score

CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College senior forward Edgar Martinez (Springfield, Mass.) totaled a game-high 19 points and snagged a game-best nine rebounds to spark the Blazers to a convincing 77-54 victory over Lesley University in Saturday afternoon's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) opener for both teams at Picknelly Arena.

With the win, Elms improves to 8-4 overall, 1-0 in NECC play, while Lesley falls to 3-8 on the season, 0-1 in league action.

After playing to three ties, four lead changes and a 14-13 score through the first nine minutes of the game, Martinez then delivered a layup and converted the ensuing free throw following a Lesley foul to give the Blazers a 17-13 edge.

Elms scored 11 of the next 13 points highlighted by five points from senior forward Juan Alverio (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico), four points from Martinez and a pair from senior guard Cecil Avant (Southwest Ranches, Fla.) to give the Blazers a 28-15 lead with 6:34 remaining in the opening half.

Three free throws from Lesley guard John Sanchez (Carson, Calif.) pulled the Lynx to within 10 at 28-18 with 5:44 on the clock but two layups by Martinez and one each from junior guard Bryant Corcoran (Wolcott, Conn.) and sophomore forward David McDaniel (Plainfield, N.J.) extended the Blazers lead to 18 (36-18) at the 2:37 mark. From there, senior guard Arsenio Avant (Southwest Ranches, Fla.) swished a trey and sophomore center Carson Miller (New Oxford, Pa.) scored underneath to keep Elms' lead at 18 points (41-23) at intermission.

Layups by junior guard Daniel Gonzalez (East Windsor, Conn.) and sophomore guard Brittain Purcelle (Tarrytown, N.Y.) lifted the lead to 22 (45-23) just 1:47 in to the second frame before Thornton Paul (Boston, Mass.) struck from beyond the arc to spark a 7-2 run to pull Lesley to within 15 at 47-32 with 15:34 remaining in the contest.

A three-pointer by Cecil Avant halted the Lynx's rally as the Blazers answered with a 18-4 string of their own that included six points from Martinez, four from Alverio, two each from Purcelle and Corcoran and a made free throw by McDaniel. The stretch was also highlighted by an Alverio blocked shot that he followed with fast-break dunk before Martinez netted a pair of baskets to cap the run with the score set at 65-36 with 11:11 to play in the game.

From there, Elms maintained at least a 23-point cushion and led by as many as 30 en route to its 77-54 victory.

Martinez hit on 8 of 13 from the floor and scored 13 of his game-best 19 points in the opening 20 minutes, while Corcoran collected eight of his 10 points in the first frame.

Alverio added nine points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots in the winning effort, while Purcelle contributed eight points.

Four Blazers' added five points off the bench including McDaniel, Arsenio and Cecil Avant, and freshman guard Jordan Robinson (Plainsboro, N.J.) as Elms shot 48.4-percent from the floor for the game.

Sanchez led Lesley's offense netting a team-high 16 points, while Jesus Trejo (Methuen, Mass.) followed with 14. Sanchez also dished out a game-high six assists and Kris Bennett (Las Vegas, Nev.) added seven points in the loss.

Elms outscored the Lynx 44-26 in the paint and scored 20 points off Lesley turnovers including 16 on the fast break.

Elms returns to NECC action on Tuesday, Jan. 11 when it travels to Becker College for a 8:00 p.m. contest in Leicester, Mass.