Men’s Basketball Fends Off Lesley University, 86-76

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Elms College guard Andre French (Torrington, Conn.) scored a game-high 23 points and led four Blazers starters in double figures to help secure a 86-76 victory over Lesley University in Thursday evening's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's basketball game.

With the win, Elms improves to 10-10 overall, 8-3 in league action, while Lesley moves to 2-14 overall, 0-8 in conference play.

French hit on 10 of 23 from the floor, dished out eight assists and notched four steals, while junior forward Kenny Lockett (Atlanta, Ga.) posted a double-double of 14 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Senior forward Isaiah Odunlami (Providence, R.I.) netted 15 points on 6 of 12 shooting from the field and sophomore guard Derek Murphy (Columbia, Md.) drained three treys and finished with 11 points to give Elms four starters in double figures.

Elms shot 44.7-percent from the floor collectively, the Blazers out-rebounded Lesley, 52-38, and senior guard Dustin Trail (East Hartford, Conn.) netted eight points off the bench. Murphy added four assists and eight rebounds, while freshman forward Conny Ihearahu (Largo, Md.) pulled down six boards.

Lesley shot 43.1-percent and was led by a 21-point effort from Trevonn Lewis (Chicago, Ill.) and an 18-point showing from Mike Kaufman (Boca Raton, Fla.) who swished six three-pointers. Justin Rosa (East Brunswick, N.J.) and Nikalus Oliver (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) each finished with nine points and four assists and Oliver added a team-high eight rebounds in the losing effort.

Branden Padgett (New Baltimore, Mich.) chipped in eight points off the bench on 3 of 6 shooting from the field and joined Oliver with three steals.

In the first half, Elms sprinted out to an 11-2 lead before Lesley stormed back with a 12-2 run of its own capped by a layup and free throw from Rosa that gave the Lynx a 14-13 lead with 12:23 to play in the frame.

With the score set at 16-16, Elms went on a 13-0 run to stake a 29-16 advantage capped by a Murphy strike from long distance with 7:18 to play in the period.

Terrell Toney (Lakewood, Wash.) canned the second of two free throws with 3:00 minutes to play to pull Lesley to within five at 35-30, but the Blazers pushed out to a 10-point 40-30 lead at intermission.

In the second half, the Lynx kept the contest within reach as Elms held leads between 11 and eight points for much of the half before using a 15-3 run late in the stanza to post a 20-point 77-57 advantage on a French bucket underneath with 4:41 to play. From there, the Blazers were able to close out the contest with an 86-76 victory.

Elms returns to NECC action on Saturday, February 1 when it hosts Daniel Webster College at 4:00 p.m. at Picknelly Arena.