Lockett Reaches 1,000-Point Plateau in Buzzer Beating Win at Newbury

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

BROOKLINE, Mass. – With one second left to play, Elms junior Jerry Buchanon (Windsor, Conn.) buried a desperation three-pointer to propel the Blazers to a 68-66 victory over host Newbury College in a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) tilt at Pappas Gymnasium Tuesday night.

The Nighthawks knocked down three three-pointers to grab an early 11-7 lead in the opening five minutes of play. The Blazers battled back with a 12-2 run over the next four minutes, capturing a 19-13 advantage. At the 9:29 mark of the first half, Elms senior forward Kenny Lockett (Atlanta, Ga.) drove through the lane for a layup, netting his 1,000^th career point, and extended the Blazers lead to 23-15. Newbury freshman guard Jeremiah Ephraim (Norwood, Mass.) converted one of two free throws at the 4:13 mark to cut the Elms advantage to 27-21. The Blazers built their lead back to nine, 30-21, but five points down the stretch chipped the Nighthawks deficit to 30-26 heading into the break.

The Blazers struck first in the second half, followed by an exchange of three-pointers from both squads, to pad the lead to 40-32. Elms pushed their advantage into the double digits, 49-39, but the Nighthawks rallied with an 11-0 run to capture their first lead of the second half, 50-49, with 7:49 remaining. The Blazers regained a 54-50 lead, and again Newbury responded with back-to-back three-pointers from Ephraim and senior guard Kwame Thompson (Brockton, Mass.) to pull ahead 56-54. Elms used a 4-0 run to regain a 60-58 advantage, followed by five straight points from Ephraim to hand Newbury a 63-60 lead. With just over a minute to play, Buchanon took over, netting five consecutive points and giving the Blazers a 65-63 advantage. Ephraim stepped up a final time, connecting on a three-pointer to put Newbury ahead 66-65. A late Elms turnover seemed to give the game to the Nighthawks, but Ephraim failed to convert a free throw. On the attempt, Lockett ripped down the board and quickly moved the ball to Buchanon, who knocked down the game-winner with a second to play, sending the Blazers to a 68-66 victory.

Buchanon led all scorers with a game-high 23 points, shooting 8-of-16 from the floor, including 5-of-8 from three-point range, with four rebounds. Lockett added 10 points and eight rebounds on his milestone night, while sophomore forward Conny Ihearahu (Largo, Md.) tallied 10 points, six rebounds and three assists. Freshman guard Keeshaun King (Jacksonville, Fla.) added six points, junior guard Tim Putnam (Windsor Locks, Conn.) dished out a team-best four assists, and junior forward Joshua Brunson (Springfield, Mass.) had seven points and six rebounds off the bench.

Thompson paced the Nighthawks with 22 points, six assists, and a game-high three steals. Ephraim registered 16 points and three assists, and senior forward David Hart (Keene, N.H.) chipped in nine points and four rebounds.

The Blazers dominated Newbury in the rebounding category, 41-26, during the contest. Elms connected on 48.1% (25-of-52) from the floor, matching a season-high with nine three-pointers, and 64.3% (9-of-14) from the foul line. The Nighthawks shot 41.4% (24-of-58) from the field, 37.9% (11-of-29) from three-point range, and 53.8% (7-of-13) from the charity stripe.

Elms improves to 10-12 and 9-5 in the NECC while Newbury falls to 3-20 and 2-12 in conference play. The Blazers will look to continue their winning ways in a home tilt against Southern Vermont College at 7:00 p.m. The Nighthawks will be back in action Thursday February 19 when they travel to Mitchell College for a 6:00 p.m. tip.

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