Men’s Basketball Clips Becker College, 74-69

LEICESTER, Mass. – Elms College sophomore guard Derek Murphy (Columbia, Md.) tied for the game-high in points with 17 and led all five Blazers starters who reached double figures to help Elms notch a hard-fought, 74-69 victory over Becker College in Wednesday evening's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's basketball game in Leicester, Mass.

In a game that was tightly contested throughout, Elms held a 70-67 lead following junior forward Kenny Lockett's (Atlanta, Ga.) two free throws with 34 seconds left. Ten seconds later, Becker's Tyler Roberson (Irvington, N.J.) cashed in with a pair of foul shots to pull the Hawks to within one at 70-69. From there, the Blazers continued their stellar free throw shooting as freshman forward Conny Ihearahu (Largo, Md.) swished a pair of free throws and Murphy added a fast-break layup following a blocked three-pointer by senior forward Isaiah Odunlami (Providence, R.I.) to close out a thrilling 74-69 victory.

Murphy finished with 17 points on 5 of 12 shooting from the field including three treys. Odunlami followed with 15 points on the strength of 11 of 17 shooting from the free throw line, guard Andre French (Torrington, Conn.) added 14 points, Lockett finished with 11 and Ihearahu added 10 points.

Lockett and Odunlami each tied for the game-high in rebounds with eight apiece, and French dished out six assists. Elms shot 41.2-percent from the field and 73.5-percent from the stripe.

Becker was led by a 17-point effort from Donovin Ford-Hayes (Windsor Locks, Conn.) and a 15-point effort from Kyle Credle (Queens, N.Y.). Scott Dulaire (Bloomfield, Conn.) netted 11 points and Roberson added nine to lead the Hawks who shot 41.0-percent from the floor and 38.5-percent from beyond the arc.

Ford-Hayes and Dulaire pulled down eight boards each and Credle led the Hawks with three assists in the losing effort.

In the first half, Becker posted a four-point point, 33-29 lead at halftime after a 10-point effort from Ford-Hayes and nine points off the bench from Credle. French led the Blazers with nine points, while Odunlami and senior guard Dustin Trail (East Hartford, Conn.) chipped in five points each in the first 20 minutes.

Elms concludes regular season action on Wednesday, February 19 when it hosts Mitchell College at 8:00 p.m. at Picknelly Arena.