French Nets 27 Points as Men’s Basketball Downs Southern Vermont College, 92-67

CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College senior guard Andre French (Torrington, Conn.) scored a game-high 27 points that included five three-pointers as the Blazers downed Southern Vermont College 92-67 in Tuesday evening's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's basketball game at Picknelly Arena.

With the win, Elms wins its eighth-straight contest and now stands at 14-8 overall, 12-1 in conference action, while Southern Vermont moves to 1-21 on the season, 1-12 in NECC play.

French sank 10 of 21 shots from the field and 5 of 15 from long distance en route to his game-high 27 points and is now just 17 points shy of reaching the 1,000-point milestone for his career.

Freshman guard Jerry Buchanon (Windsor, Conn.) was effective off the bench connecting on 6 of 12 from the floor and 2 of 7 from beyond the arc and finished with 16 points. Sophomore forward Kenneth Lockett (Atlanta, Ga.) and senior forward Jamal Hulum (Norfolk, Va.) added 13 and 12 points each for the Blazers in the winning effort.

Hulum was also a standout on the glass, grabbing 11 boards, while French dished out four assists and recorded five steals. Sophomore guard Piere Simpson (East Hartford, Conn.) added five helpers of his own, and junior forward Isaiah Odunlami (Providence, R.I.) contributed seven points and six rebounds for Elms which shot 45-percent from the field highlighted by 41 points off 32 Mountaineers' turnovers (22 on the fast-break).

Southern Vermont was led by Taeshon Johnson (Charlotte, N.C.) who registered a team-high 22 points on 8 of 16 shooting from the field in addition to securing a game-high 12 rebounds. Travis Severs (Bennington, Vt.) canned a pair of treys and finished with 16 points on 7 of 12 from the floor, while Jermaine Campbell (Bridgeport, Conn.) added nine points and secured 10 rebounds for the Mountaineers.

Johnson and Tarvaris Jenkins (Chicago, Ill.) dished out four assists each, but Southern Vermont was outscored 46-32 in the paint and received just nine points from its reserves, compared to 28 for the Blazers.

In the opening period, Elms led by as many as 12 points on two occasions - both occurring after Southern Vermont clawed back from a 10-point deficit and took a 10-point 45-35 lead into halftime.

Leading 55-45 after the first 4:55 of the frame, the Blazers began to pull away as Buchanon swished mid-range jumper that sparked a 22-7 run that set the score at 77-53 with 7:57 to play. Elms maintained at least a 20-point lead for the remainder of the contest and led by as many as 31 (88-57) when senior center Carson Miller (New Oxford, Pa.) delivered a layup on a nice dish from junior Dustin Trail (East Hartford, Conn.) with 4:27 to play.

Elms is back in action on Saturday, February 9 at Wheelock College for NECC action beginning at 12:00 p.m. in Boston, Mass.