Green Mountain Outlasts Men's Basketball in Consolation Game

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

KEENE, N.H. – The Elms College men's basketball fell to Green Mountain College, 100-97, in the consolation game of the 2015 Keene State Tip Off Tournament at Spaulding Gymnasium Sunday afternoon. The Blazers move to 0-2 overall, while the Eagles improve to 1-1 on the season.

Tied 8-8 with 13:40 left in the first half, back-to-back layups from Elms juniors Joshua Brunson (Springfield, Mass.) and Sirvaughn Hobdy (Atlanta, Ga.) put the Blazers up 12-8, but Green Mountain rallied back behind a pair of free throws from junior Daniel Ginsberg (Charlottesville, Va.) and a three-pointer from senior Sampson Dale (Charlottesville, Va.) to grab a 13-12 advantage. The Eagles padded their lead with a 19-9 run over the next five minutes, featuring eight points from Dale, to take a 32-21 lead with 7:14 on the clock. The Blazers roared back, orchestrating a 19-2 run in the span of six minutes to regain a 40-34 advantage. Elms senior Jerry Buchanon (Windsor, Conn.) netted the final six points of the quarter for Elms as the Blazers took a 44-40 lead into intermission.

Three straight buckets from Buchanon opened the Blazers scoring in the second half as Elms paced Green Mountain, 49-42, with 18:44 to play. The Eagles gained control on a three-pointer from senior Jared Carithers (Washington, D.C.) at the 17:19 mark to give Green Mountain a 52-49 lead. The squads traded the lead five times over the next five minutes with a three-point play from Elms sophomore Andre Wright (Danbury, Conn.) giving the Blazers a 68-63 lead with 12:16 on the clock. Trailing 70-66 with 11:26 to play, Eagle senior Cameron Anderson (Charlottesville, Va.) buried back-to-back three-pointers that gave Green Mountain a 72-71 lead, which they wouldn't relinquish. Leading 79-77 at the 8:03 mark, the Eagles began to pull away with an 11-2 run over three minutes, powered by four points from Anderson, to build a 90-79 advantage. Elms mounted a final rally with an 11-3 run over the next two minutes, featuring four-point efforts from Buchanon and junior Symon Smith (Oklahoma City, Okla.) to make it a 93-90 lead. Green Mountain kept the Blazers at bay, matching Elms, 7-7, down the stretch to secure the 100-97 win.

Buchanon paced the Blazers with a team-high 26 points, converting 11-of-12 free throw attempts, with a game-high six assists, three rebounds and two steals. Junior Conny Ihearahu (Largo, Md.) netted a career-high 21 points with a season-high 13 rebounds for a double-double, while Brunson added 12 points and five rebounds off the bench. Smith and senior Tim Putnam (Windsor Locks, Conn.) had 10 points apiece, with Putnam adding five assists.

Green Mountain had six players reach double figures in scoring, led by Anderson with a game-high 27 points, shooting 9-of-12 from the field, with four rebounds and a game-high three blocks. Dale tallied 14 points and a game-high six rebounds, and junior Thomas Brown (Charlottesville, Va.) had 13 points with a game-high six assists and four rebounds. Carithers notched 12 points and a game-high six rebounds, while Ginsberg added 12 points off the bench. Junior Javier Lugris (Madrid, Spain) chipped in 10 points and five rebounds in the win.

The Blazers edged the Eagles on the glass, 40-35, during the contest. Elms shot 50.8% (31-of-61) from the field, including 30.8% (4-of-13) from three-point range, and 93.9% (31-of-33) from the foul line. Green Mountain was 43.8% (32-of-73) from the field, 31.4% (11-of-35) from three-point range, and 75.8% (25-of-33) from the charity stripe.

The Blazers will look to log their first victory of the season in their 2015-16 home opener against Western New England Tuesday night at Picknelly Arena at 7:00 p.m. Green Mountain heads to Lesley University of a non-conference tilt Wednesday at 8:00 p.m.

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