Babson College Tops Men's Basketball, 84-57

BABSON PARK, Mass. - Elms College sophomore guard Derek Murphy (Columbia, Md.) netted a team-high 17 points including three treys, but the Blazers could not escape a 49-17 first half deficit as Babson College notched a 84-57 victory in Saturday afternoon's non-conference men's basketball game. 

With the loss, Elms moves to 3-7 overall, while Babson improves to 9-2 on the season. 

In the opening period, Babson put on an impressive display of shooting cashing in on 58.1-percent of its shots highlighted by a 17-point effort from Joey Flannery (Acton, Mass.) who was 6 of 12 from the floor in the stanza. 

Travis Sheldon (Woodstock, N.Y.) added nine points on 3 for 3 shooting from beyond the arc off the bench, while Kenny Ross (Furlong, Pa.) secured six rebounds in the opening 20 minutes.

Elms was led by freshman forward Conny Ihearahu (Largo, Md.) who netted six points, while Murphy followed with five points. Junior forward Kenny Lockett (Atlanta, Ga.) chipped in four points and four rebounds for the Blazers who were held to just 25-percent shooting from the field. 

In the second half, Murphy connected for 12 points including two three-pointers and senior forward Isaiah Odunlami (Providence, R.I.) scored all seven of his points in the second half for Elms which tabbed a stellar 48.4 shooting percentage in the second frame.

However, the Blazers' second half turnaround was not enough as Charlie Rice (Barnstable, Mass.) exploded for 11 points in reserve for the Beavers in the second half to help Babson stake its 84-57 victory. 

Sheldon and Rice each finished with 11 points off the bench behind Flannery's game-high 19 points, while Matt Palazini (Franklin, Mass.) chipped in with nine points in the winning effort. Eric Dean (Gilford, N.H.) added eight points and a team-high eight boards for the Beavers. 

Murphy led Elms with 17 points, followed by 10 from Lockett and a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds from Ihearahu. 

Elms returns to New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action on Tuesday, January 7 when it hosts Lesley University at 5:00 p.m. at Picknelly Arena.