Men's Basketball Defeats Lesley

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College men's basketball team pushed their New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) win streak to three games, defeating visiting Lesley University, 83-75, in a NECC matchup at Picknelly Arena Thursday night. With the win, the Blazers improve to 6-7 overall, and 4-1 in conference play, while Lesley drops to 2-12, and 1-4 in league standings.

 The Blazers grabbed an early 9-1 advantage in the opening four minutes of play, but the Lynx battled back behind a 10-3 run over the next two minutes to trim the deficit to 12-11 with 14:17 on the clock. The Lynx continued to chip away and a layup from junior Terrell Toney (Lakewood, Wash.) knotted the game at 19-19 at the 10:34 mark. The Lynx pushed their lead to 25-21, but a layup from Elms senior Jerry Buchanon (Windsor, Conn.) regained a 26-25 advantage for the Blazers. Trailing 30-29, the Lynx took back the lead, closing the half on a 10-5 run, powered by five straight points from junior Devon Mayo (Newport News, Va.), to send the Lynx into the break with a 40-34 lead.

The Blazers opened the second half with back-to-back buckets from junior Symon Smith (Oklahoma City, Okla.) and a free throw from sophomore Devonte Marshall (Springfield, Mass.) to pull within two points, 42-40. Trailing 50-42 at the 13:54 mark, Elms sophomore Keeshaun King (Jacksonville, Fla.) knocked down a pair of three-pointers to spark a 15-4 run over the next six minutes, rebuilding a 57-54 lead for the Blazers, which they wouldn't relinquish.  Elms continued to push the ball offensively, extending their lead to 70-60 over the next three minutes, fueled by seven points from Buchanon.  A pair of free throws from Smith with 3:29 remaining gave the Blazers their largest lead of the game, 74-61. The Lynx mounted one last rally, orchestrating a 14-5 run in a four-minute span, to trim the deficit to 79-75 with 25 seconds to play. With the Lynx forced to foul, Smith converted four straight free throws in the final seconds to secure the 83-75 victory.

The Blazers had four scorers amass double-digit point totals, led by a team-high 25 points and six rebounds from Buchanon. Smith tallied 19 points, four rebounds, and four assists, while sophomore Andre Wright (Danbury, Conn.) added 11 points, jarring a trio of three-pointers. Junior Conny Ihearahu (Largo, Md.) chipped in 10 points and six rebounds, while senior Jamaal Gary (Bloomfield, Conn.) grabbed a team-high seven rebounds off the bench.

Lesley was paced by Mayo with a game-high 27 points and six rebounds. Senior Chris Barletta (Valrico, Fla.) had 17 points, and junior Pierre St. Simon (Farmingdale, N.Y.) registered a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.

The Lynx edged the Blazers on the glass, 35-34, during the contest. Elms connected on 49% (24-of-49) from the floor, including 50% (7-of-14) from three-point range, and 70% (28-of-40) from the free throw stripe. Lesley shot 47.5% (28-of-59) from the field, 29.4% (5-of-17) from three-point, and 60.9% (14-of-23) from the foul line.

The Blazers will return to action with an NECC home tilt against Regis (Mass.) Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at Picknelly Arena. Lesley host Mitchell College in NECC action Saturday at 7:00 p.m.

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