Men's Basketball Outlasts Becker

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms college junior guard Jerry Buchanon (Windsor, Conn.) netted a career-high 28 points as the Blazers defeated visiting Becker College, 63-57, in a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) contest at Picknelly Arena Tuesday evening.

The Blazers opened play with a 9-2 run over the first five minutes, featuring seven points from Buchanon. Trailing 15-6 with 11:24 on the clock, the Hawks rallied back with a 14-0 run, capped off by a fast break dunk from junior forward Scott Dulaire (Bloomfield, Conn.), to put the Hawks up 20-15 with 8:06 to play. Becker extended their lead to 27-20 with less than two minutes to play, but the Blazers cut their deficit to 27-23 heading into halftime.

The Blazers came out of the break on a 6-2 run to knot the game at 29-29 with 17:46 remaining. The squads exchanged buckets for the next three minutes, but a three-pointer from Becker senior guard Donovin Ford-Hayes (Windsor Locks, Conn.) regained a 39-35 advantage for the Hawks with 13:15 on the clock. The Blazers captured their first lead of the second half on a three-point play from Buchanon at the 9:59 mark to make it a 45-43 game. Becker pulled even on four consecutive points from freshman forward Samuel Durodola (Rosedale, N.Y.) to put the score at 54-54 with 3:52 remaining. The Blazers regained the lead on back-to-back buckets from sophomore guard Sirvaughn Hobdy (Atlanta, Ga.) and senior forward Kenny Lockett (Atlanta, Ga.). Free throws brought Becker to within a point, 58-57, but the Blazers put the game away behind four straight points from junior guard Piere Simpson (East Hartford, Conn.) to secure the 63-57 victory.

Buchanon led all scorers with a game-high 28 points, shooting 10-of-18 from the floor, with five rebounds. Lockett registered his second double-double of the season with 17 points and a season-high 13 rebounds. Hobdy added seven points, while sophomore forward Conny Ihearahu (Largo, Md.) grabbed six rebounds in the win.

Becker had three players reach double-digit point totals, led by 16 points from junior forward Reginald Finney (Ansonia, Conn.). Durodola tallied 15 points and nine rebounds, while Ford-Hayes chipped in 11 points. Senior forward David Maturah (Windsor Locks, Conn.) and junior forward Rashaun Liggon (Elizabeth, N.J.) each collected 11 rebounds.

"It feels great to get this win," said Buchanon. "We can out and played as a team, which was most important tonight. We did a good job of moving the ball on offense, getting everyone involved in the play, and keeping the defense off balance. I felt really good coming into the game today, I knew I was going to have a good game, but I just want to maintain that in the second half. This win gives us a ton of confidence moving forward in our conference schedule. We've learned how to approach these games, and came out ready against Becker. We need to come out with the same gameplan against Regis this weekend, focus in practice, be ready and work hard."

The Hawks outrebounded the Blazers, 47-32, during the contest. Elms connected on 39.7% (23-of-58) from the floor, including 30.8% (4-of-13) from three-point range, and 68.4% (13-of-19) from the free throw line. Becker shot 35.1% (20-of-57) from the field, 17.6% (3-of-17) from three-point, and 70% (14-of-20) from the foul line.

The Blazers move to 5-7 overall and 4-0 in the NECC, while Becker sits at 7-5, and 2-1 on the season. Elms returns to the court in a road tilt at Regis College Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. The Hawks host Regis Thursday evening at 8:00 p.m.

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