Men's Basketball Falls to Regis

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College men's basketball was defeated by visiting Regis College, 71-55, in a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) tilt at Picknelly Arena Saturday afternoon.

Back-to-back three-pointers from Elms junior guard Jerry Buchanon (Windsor, Conn.) handed the Blazers an 8-0 lead in the opening minutes of the contest. The Pride settled in a used a 12-4 run over the next three minutes to knot the game at 12-12 with 14:39 on the clock. A thunderous slam from senior forward Kenny Lockett (Atlanta, Ga.) put Elms up 19-14 at the 8:58 mark, but again Regis rallied with 9-4 run to pull even at 23-23 with less than three minutes to play in the half. The Pride gained control with six straight points from junior guard Jeff Tagger Jr. (Brockton, Mass.), taking a 31-26 lead into halftime.

The Pride used back-to-back three-pointers from Tagger Jr. and junior guard Jordan Monts (Springfield, Mass.) to pad their lead to 37-28 with 17:55 to play. A layup from Elms sophomore forward Conny Ihearahu (Largo, Md.) trimmed the Blazers deficit to 39-32 at the 14:55 mark. The Pride pushed their lead into double digits, 46-36, behind a pair of free throws from sophomore forward Sam Jean-Gilles (Melrose, Mass.) with 9:36 remaining. The Blazers mounted a final rally with a 7-4 run to make it a 50-43 game with 6:14 on the clock. Regis pulled away with a 15-6 run over the next five minutes to capture a 65-49 advantage, en route to the 71-55 win for the Pride.

Lockett and Buchanon paced the Blazers with 15 points apiece. Lockett registered a double-double with 10 rebounds, while Buchanon dished out a team-high five assists. Ihearahu contributed 14 points, nine rebounds and a game-high four blocks.

Regis had three players reach double digits in points, led by 17-point efforts from Tagger Jr. and senior forward Ethan Peana (Staten Island, N.Y.). Tagger Jr. added a game-high six assists, a game-high six steals and five rebounds, while Peana grabbed a team-best eight rebounds. Jean-Gilles chipped in 11 points, a team-best eight rebounds, three assists and three steals in the win.

The Pride edged the Blazers on the glass, 44-36, while converting 26 points off turnovers and outscored the Elms bench, 25-7. The Blazers connected on 39.6% (21-of-53) from the floor, including 20% (3-of-15) from three-point, and 58.8% (10-of-17) from the free throw line. Regis shot 41.8% (28-of-67) from the field, 26.3% (5-of-19) from three-point, and 71.4% (10-of-14) from the foul line.

The Blazers moved to 9-12 overall, and 8-5 in the NECC, while Regis improved to 16-7, and 11-3 on the season. Elms visits Newbury College for their final road trip Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. The Pride hosts Lesley Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m.

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