Strong First Half Lifts Men’s Basketball to 78-59 Victory Over Regis College

CHICOPEE, Mass. - Elms College senior guard Andre French (Torrington, Conn.) and junior forward Isaiah Odunlami (Providence, R.I.) each scored 11 points to help drive the Blazers to a 78-59 victory over Regis College in Saturday afternoon's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's basketball game at Picknelly Arena.

With the win, Elms improves to 3-6 on the season, 2-0 in NECC play, while Regis falls to 0-8 overall, 0-2 in league action.

Odunlami was superb in 15 minutes of action off the bench, scoring 11 points on 5 of 7 shooting in addition to notching a team-high seven rebounds. Senior forward David McDaniel (Plainfield, N.J.) and freshman guard Derek Murphy (Columbia, Md.) added 10 and nine points respectively, while freshman guard Jerry Buchanon (Windsor, Conn.) added three rejections and finished with eight points. Sophomore Piere Simpson (East Hartford, Conn.) dished out four assists in the win.

Regis was led by Jordan Monts (Springfield, Mass.) who poured in a game-high 13 points, followed by Ryan Chambers (Abington, Mass.) and Ethan Peana (Staten Island, N.Y.) who added 11 and 10 respectively.

Elms shot 45.3-percent from the floor and held a 42-21 advantage in bench points.

In the opening frame, Elms posted an early 12-11 advantage on a jumper by French with 13:31 to play and then used 7-0 run highlighted by five points from French, to give the Blazers a 19-11 lead at the 9:54 mark. Elms then scored 11 of the next 18 points to notch a 12-point, 30-18 lead at halftime.

The Blazers opened the second stanza on a 13-9 run accentuated by a dunk by senior forward Jamal Hulum (Norfolk, Va.) who finished with seven points off the bench in the win. 

Regis narrowed its deficit to 13 (43-30) on a layup by Chambers but that's as close as Regis would get as Elms posted a 12-0 run ignited by back-to-back three-point plays from junior guard Dustin Trail (East Hartford, Conn.) to give Elms a 55-40 lead with 9:35 remaining in the contest.

Leading 70-47, Elms recorded three consecutive steals leading to six fast-break points, including two from Murphy and one from senior guard Walter Mfuko (Amherst, Mass.) which lifted the Blazers to a 76-47 lead with 3:41 to play. Elms posted its largest advantage – 31 points – with 2:43 to play in the game following a pair of free throws by Murphy.

Trail and Mfuko tallied six and five points each in the winning effort, while sophomore forward Kenneth Lockett (Atlanta, Ga.) chipped in six points.

Elms returns to non-conference action on Saturday, December 15 at Castleton State College at 3:00 p.m.