Men's Basketball Pushes Win Streak to Five

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

BROOKLINE, Mass. – The Elms College men's basketball team notched their fifth consecutive victory with an 89-78 win over host Newbury College in a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) matchup at Pappas Gymnasium Tuesday night. With the win, the Blazers improved to 8-7 on the season, and 6-1 in the conference, while the Nighthawks dropped to 2-12 overall, and 1-5 in league standings.

The Blazers were paced by four scorers in double figures, powered by a game-high 22 points from senior Jerry Buchanon (Windsor, Conn.). Buchanon added seven rebounds, five steals and four assists, while sophomore Andre Wright (Danbury, Conn.) netted a career-high 16 points off the bench. Junior Conny Ihearahu (Largo, Md.) tallied 14 points with three rebounds, and sophomore Devonte Marshall (Springfield, Mass.) logged a career-high 13 points with two rebounds and two blocks. Sophomore Keeshaun King (Jacksonville, Fla.) notched nine points, six rebounds and four assists.

The Nighthawks had three players with double digit point totals, led by 18 points and six assists from sophomore Jeduan Langston (Roxbury, Mass.). Junior Kenny Ramos (Roxbury, Mass.) registered a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Senior Christian Sheridan (Chicago, Ill.) came off the bench with 16 points.

A pair of free throws from Ihearahu put the Blazers up 8-4 at the 14:53 mark, but an 11-2 run by the Nighthawks, powered by six points from Langston gained a 15-10 lead for Newbury with 10:27 to play in the half. The Blazers roared back behind a pair of layups from Marshall and five straight points from Wright to take a 19-15 advantage with 7:43 on the clock. A bucket from Buchanon pushed the Elms lead to 26-21, but the Nighthawks responded again behind three straight three-pointers, including a pair from sophomore Louis Neals (Manchester, Conn.), to capture a 32-28 lead with 2:02 remaining in the opening half. Elms regained control by closing the stanza on a 9-0 run, fueled by five points from King, to take a 37-32 lead into intermission.

The Nighthawks tied the score over the opening four minutes of the period, orchestrating an 11-6 run, featuring trio of three-pointers, to make it 43-43. Five straight points from Elms junior Symon Smith (Oklahoma City, Okla.) sparked a 13-2 run by the Blazers capped off by a dunk from Ihearahu at the 12:59 mark to put Elms up 56-45. Buchanon netted five consecutive points to give the Blazers their largest lead of the game, 66-53, with 9:21 remaining in the contest. The Nighthawks mounted a final comeback over the next three minutes, assembling an 11-0 run with a layup from Neals pulling Newbury within two at 66-64. Buchanon kept the Nighthawks at bay, scoring nine points in the next three minutes to extend the Blazers advantage to 77-68 with 3:36 to play. The Blazers outscored Newbury, 12-10, down the stretch to secure the 89-78 victory over the Nighthawks.

The Nighthawks edged the Blazers on the glass, 34-31, while Elms controlled Newbury in points off turnovers (29-19) and points in the paint (48-36) during the contest. Elms connected on 59.6% (31-of-52) from the floor, including 41.7% (5-of-12) from three-point range, and 71% (22-of-31) from the free throw line. Newbury shot 48.3% (29-of-60) from the field, 41.2% (7-of-17) from three-point, and 56.5% (13-of-23) from the foul line.

The Blazers will look to keep their win streak rolling when they take on top-seeded Southern Vermont College (13-3, 7-0 NECC) at Picknelly Arena Thursday at 7:00 p.m. Newbury travels to Lesley for an NECC tilt Thursday at 8:00 p.m.

ELMS BASKETBALL