Second Half Surge Lifts Men’s Basketball Past Mitchell College, 94-84

CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College guard Andre French (Torrington, Conn.) led all scorers with 23 points and senior guard Dustin Trail (East Hartford, Conn.) added 18 points to help pace the Blazers to a 94-84 victory over Mitchell College in Wednesday evening's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's basketball game at Picknelly Arena.

With the win, Elms concludes regular season action at 14-11 overall, 12-4 in NECC action, while Mitchell moves to 16-7 on the season, 11-4 in NECC play. The Blazers now await the seeding for the NECC Championship tournament.

In the opening half, neither team held more than a six-point advantage as Elms held a 38-36 edge at halftime. Trail led all scorers at the break with 12 points, while Mitchell's Joshua Ford (Jersey City, N.J.) followed with 11 points. Trail was 5 of 6 from the field, while Ford hit on 5 of 8 from the floor to highlight the stanza.

In the second period, Elms maintained its lead and midway through the half, began to pull away. After a Ford layup with 11:47 to play closed the Mariners' deficit to four (57-53), French hit a layup and then canned a three-pointer to spark a 21-6 run over the next four minutes to give the Blazers a commanding 78-59 lead with 7:41 to play. The run featured seven points from French, five from freshman forward Conny Ihearahu (Largo, Md.) and five from junior forward Kenny Lockett (Atlanta, Ga.).

The Mariners closed to within 10 with 1:12 to play when Parris Hill (Fishers Island, N.Y.) made a bucket inside but that's as close as Mitchell could get as French and Ford exchanged layups, while Lockett and Alex Del Rio (New Britain, Conn.) exchanged baskets to set the final score at 94-84.

Elms' senior forward Isaiah Odunlami (Providence, R.I.) added 16 points and eight rebounds, Lockett finished with 15 points and seven boards, and Ihearahu added 13 points and a team-best nine boards off the bench.

French was terrific in the offensive surge dishing out nine assists in addition to his 23 points. The Blazers shot 53.6-percent from the field and held a 62-46 scoring advantage in the paint. Sophomore guard Derek Murphy (Columbia, Md.) chipped in nine points off the bench while he and French each secured five rebounds.

Mitchell was led by Hill's 21 points and eight rebounds. Ford followed with 17 points and a game-best 10 rebounds to go along with three blocked shots and four assists. Anthony Epps (Norwalk, Conn.) added 15 points, while Del Rio handed out a team-high six helpers in the losing effort.