Odunlami Nets 27, Men’s Basketball Falls at Rhode Island College, 78-65

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Elms College senior forward Isaiah Odunlami (Providence, R.I.) scored a collegiate career-high and game-high 27 points, but Rhode Island College used an 11-point output from Eric Alleyne (Watertown, Mass.) in the second half and the Anchormen outscored the Blazers, 42-26 in the second half to help seal a 78-65 victory in Thursday evening's non-conference men's basketball game at the Murray Center in Providence, R.I.

With the loss, Elms moves to 1-6 on the season, while Rhode Island improves to 4-3 overall.

Odunlami was 6 of 12 shooting from the field and 13 of 18 at the free throw line for the Blazers en route to his 27 points. Sophomore guard Derek Murphy (Columbia, Md.) added 10 points off the bench and four steals, freshman forward Conny Ihearahu (Largo, Md.) added nine points and a team-best 10 rebounds, and sophomore guard Jerry Buchanon (Windsor, Conn.) finished with eight points.

Junior forward Kenny Lockett (Atlanta, Ga.) chipped in seven points and pulled down nine boards, while Odunlami added seven rebounds in the losing effort.

Rhode Island saw four players score in double figures led by Alleyne who totaled a team-best 15 points. Chris Burton (New Rochelle, N.Y.) added 14 points and a game-high 15 rebounds, Jacob Page (Brookline, Mass.) followed with 11 points, and Nyheem Sanders (Pawtucket, R.I.) contributed 10 points to help seal the win.

Terrance Tribble (White Plains, N.Y.) added nine boards, Tom DeCiantis (North Kingstown, R.I.) dished out a game-best six helpers, and Burton and Victor Smith (Providence, R.I.) handed out four assists each.

In the first half, Elms shot a stellar 41.9-percent from the field and led by as many as seven points when Ihearahu corralled a missed layup by Murphy and powered it in to give the Blazers an 18-11 lead with 9:55 to play in the opening frame.

A Mike Neal (Pawtucket, R.I.) layup cut Elms' lead to 27-25 with 5:43 to play in the half, and a triple from Page at the 3:50 mark again closed the Anchormen's deficit to two (30-28).

A pair of Odunlami free throws lifted Elms' lead to 39-34 with 23 seconds to play before Burton converted a layup 10 seconds later to set the score a 39-36 at intermission.

In the second half, Elms shot just 23.1-percent from the floor and went 14 minutes in the frame without making a field goal, with its only points during that stretch coming from the free throw line.

Rhode Island used a pair of three-pointers from Page and one from Sanders and Palumbo during the second half to help the Anchormen stem the tide and post a 14 point lead (69-55) with 2:40 to play. Layups by Buchanon and Ihearahu and a triple from Murphy pulled Elms back to within 10 at 75-65 with 29 seconds to play, but Alleyne sealed the victory making 3 of 4 from the charity stripe to set the final advantage at 78-65.

Elms returns to conference action on Saturday, December 7 at Newbury College at 3:00 p.m.