Four Blazers Score in Double Figures as Men’s Basketball Downs Wheelock College, 89-40

CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College senior guard Andre French (Torrington, Conn.) scored a game-high 15 points in 19 minutes and the Blazers bench added 45 total points to help seal an 89-40 victory over Wheelock College in Saturday afternoon's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's basketball game at Picknelly Arena.

With the win, Elms has now won three straight to improve to 6-7 overall, 5-0 in NECC play, while Wheelock slips to 2-10 on the season, 1-3 in NECC action.

Elms broke out to an early 9-2 lead in the opening 5:15 of the game highlighted by a thunderous dunk from sophomore forward Kenneth Lockett (Atlanta, Ga.) on a beautiful feed from sophomore guard Piere Simpson (East Hartford, Conn.).

After five points from Wheelock's Bashir Hudson (Jamaica Plain, Mass.) pulled the Wildcats to within four (9-5) at the 13:26 mark, the Blazers answered with a 31-8 run over the next 12 minutes to post a commanding 40-13 advantage with 1:08 remaining in the first frame.

Leading 44-18 at halftime, Elms continued to pull away building its lead to as many as 51 and concluded the game on a 15-4 run.

Blazers' freshman guard Jerry Buchanon (Windsor, Conn.) drained a pair of treys and was 5 of 7 from the floor in 19 minutes off the bench, finishing with 14 points. Senior forwards David McDaniel (Plainfield, N.J.) and Jamal Hulum (Norfolk, Va.) added 10 points each, while Lockett added nine points in the winning effort.

Senior center Carson Miller (New Oxford, Pa.), junior forward Isaiah Odunlami (Providence, R.I.) and Simpson added six points apiece, and Odunlami and junior guard Dustin Trail (East Hartford, Conn.) hauled in a team-high five rebounds each.

French was a perfect 8 for 8 from the charity stripe and added five steals, Simpson dished out five assists, and Buchanon added three helpers in the winning effort.

Elms outscored Wheelock 46-14 in the paint, converted 32 Wildcats turnovers into 35 points (13 on the fast break) and held a 12-2 advantage in second chance points.

Wheelock was led by Daniel Higgins (Wakefield, Mass.) who canned four treys en route to 13 points, while Sean Semerjian (Montreal, Quebec) was 5 of 7 from the line and tallied 11 points.

Scott Sobel (Silver Spring, Md.) helped drive the Wildcats' offense with four assists and six points. Hudson finished with nine points – all in the first 20 minutes of play.

Elms was a stellar 47.0-percent shooting from the floor as a team and the Blazers' defense held Wheelock to just 26.5-percent from the field.  

Elms returns to NECC action on Tuesday, January 15 at Newbury College at 7:00 p.m.