Wesleyan University (Conn.) Outlasts Men’s Basketball, 74-71

CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College sophomore guard Jerry Buchanon (Windsor, Conn.) totaled a team-high 19 points and senior forward Isaiah Odunlami (Providence, R.I.) notched 10 points and added five assists and two blocks, but Wesleyan University (Conn.) used a game-best 21-point effort from BJ Davis (Hamden, Conn.) off the bench to help lift the Cardinals to a 74-71 victory over the Blazers in Tuesday evening's non-conference men's basketball game at Picknelly Arena.

With the loss, Elms moves to 1-4 on the season, while Wesleyan improves to 3-2 overall.

In a game that saw neither team mount more than a 10-point lead, the sides battled to a 58-58 deadlock when Buchanon canned a jumper at the 5:19 mark of the second half. Davis answered with one of his three treys to give Wesleyan a 61-58 lead. An Odunlami jumper in the key pulled the Blazers to within one at 61-60 with 4:40 remaining but a Davis layup and a triple by Bryan Galvin (Ridgefield, Conn.) helped the Cardinals extend the lead to 66-61 with 3:39 to play.

A jumper by Elms' junior forward Kenny Lockett (Atlanta, Ga.) with 40 ticks on the clock pulled Elms to within two at 70-68, and a layup by Blazers' junior guard Piere Simpson (East Hartford, Conn.) with eight seconds left set the score at 73-71, but Davis hit the back end of two free throws with seven seconds left to play and Elms could not get a final shot off before the buzzer as the Cardinals hung on for a 74-71 victory.

Lockett finished with 12 points and four rebounds, while Simpson added 11 points and four boards. Buchanon was stellar on defense as well, notching six steals, while freshman guard Conny Ihearahu (Largo, Md.) added five points and five rebounds for the Blazers.

Davis and Galvin each swished three from long distance and Galvin finished with 13 points behind Davis's 21. Rashid Epps (Albrightsville, Pa.) and Harry Rafferty (Dubuque, Iowa) each finished with 10 points, while Epps led all rebounders with 11. Joe Edmonds (Oklahoma City, Okla.) added nine points in the winning effort.

In the first half, the sides played to three ties scores and a lead change and Wesleyan built an eight point lead with 1:19 left on an Epps layup to set the score at 32-24. However, Elms, which led by as many as five in the first stanza, used a pair of Simpson free throws and a jumper from Simpson with four seconds remaining to set the score at 34-28 at intermission as Elms scored four of the final six points of the half.

Elms opens New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action on Tuesday, December 3 when it hosts Southern Vermont College at 8:00 p.m. at Picknelly Arena in its next outing.