Men’s Basketball Falls to Wheelock College in Overtime, 71-60

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Elms College junior forward David McDaniel (Plainfield, N.J.) scored a game-high 22 points and hauled in a game-best 16 rebounds, but Wheelock College outscored the Blazers 12-1 in the extra frame to pace the Wildcats to a 71-60 overtime victory in Thursday evening's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's basketball game at Brunelli Court in Chestnut Hill, Mass.

With the loss, Elms slips to 10-7 overall, 5-3 in NECC play, while Wheelock improves to 9-8 on the season, 7-2 in conference action.

Trailing 55-43 with 4:42 to play in regulation, McDaniel hit a jump shot to spark a 16-4 rally by Elms that featured a pair of three-pointers by senior guard Daniel Gonzalez (East Windsor, Conn.) and McDaniel who's second trey during the stretch found the bottom of the net as time expired. McDaniel received an inbounds pass from sophomore guard Kurt Steiner (Rutland, Mass.) with just one second remaining and connected for his third strike of the contest from beyond the arc to tie the game at 59-59 and force an extra period.

From there, Wheelock came out firing in the overtime frame, as Kyle Pierce (Burlington, Mass.), Bashir Hudson (Jamaica Plain, Mass.) and Max Kaim (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) all added buckets, while Bunky Williams (Miami, Fla.) converted on 4 for 4 from the free throw line to help pace the Wildcats to a 71-60 victory.

Elms shot just 33.8-percent from the field and 19.4-percent from three-point range but connected on four treys down the stretch to highlight the comeback and force overtime.

Gonzalez scored 16 points off the bench, while junior guard Charles Bason (Riverdale, Md.) added five rebounds and six assists in the losing effort.

Wheelock had three players score in double figures led by Pierce's 19, while Eric Rice (Woburn, Mass.) and Kaim added 17 and 11 respectively. Rice added a team-high 10 rebounds and the Wildcats connected on 48.2-percent from the floor.

In the opening 20 minutes, neither team established more than a five-point lead as the Blazers posted a slim 30-29 lead at intermission.

In the second frame, the sides continued back-and-forth action until Wheelock built on its 45-41 lead with 8:46 remaining using a 10-2 run to stake the largest lead of the contest (55-43 with 4:42 in regulation).

Elms returns to NECC action on Saturday, Jan. 28 when it hosts Lesley University at 2:00 p.m. at Picknelly Arena.