Men's Basketball Collects Road Win at Daniel Webster

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

NASHUA, N.H. – The Elms College men's basketball team moved back into the win column with a 79-70 victory at Daniel Webster College in a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) contest at Mario Vagge Gymnasium Tuesday night. The win improves the Blazers record to 9-8 overall and 7-2 in conference play, while Daniel Webster drops to 4-4 in the NECC and 7-10 on the season.

The Eagles came out of the gates hot, racing to an 8-2 lead, and then three straight three-pointers from Daniel Webster junior Angelo Adon (Silver Spring, Md.) pushed the Eagles advantage to 17-5 with 13:51 on the clock. Elms responded behind three-pointers from senior Jerry Buchanon (Windsor, Conn.), junior Trifon Bish (St. Catherine, Jamaica), and sophomore Chris Ceus (Santaluces, Fla.) to trim the deficit to single digits, 25-16, with 9:15 remaining in the half. A 12-6 run by the Blazers, capped off by a layup from sophomore Andre Wright (Danbury, Conn.) at the 3:32 mark made it a one possession game, 31-28. The Eagles closed the opening stanza on a 9-2 run to take a 40-30 lead into the intermission.

The Blazers kicked off the second half on a 12-1 run, powered by five-point efforts from Smith and Buchanon, to give the Blazers their first lead of the game, 42-41, with 17:05 to play. Five straight points from Symon pushed the Elms advantage to 49-43, but three-pointer from Adon kept the Eagles close at 50-49 with 11:56 to go. The Blazers created separation with a 15-9 run over the next seven minutes, fueled by ten points from Buchanon, to capture a 65-57 lead. A three-point play from Eagles junior Ray Farmer (Nashua, N.H.) made it a 65-60 lead, but Elms sandwiched layups from senior Jamaal Gary (Bloomfield, Conn.) around a bucket from Buchanon to build a 73-61 lead. Elms kept the Eagles at bay down the stretch with Smith knocking down four straight from the foul line to secure the 79-70 win.

The duo of Buchanon and Smith led the Blazers with 25 and 20 points, respectively. Buchanon added a team-high seven assists with four rebounds and three steals, while Smith connected on three three-pointers with four rebounds and two assists. Bish netted 10 points off the bench, while junior Conny Ihearahu (Largo, Md.) added nine points and five rebounds.

The Eagles were powered by a game-high 26 points from Adon, converting 5-of-8 from three-point range. Junior Rondell Best (Brockton, Mass.) notched a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, freshman Jared Harrington (Upper Marlboro, Md.) chipped in 12 points and four rebounds, and Farmer grabbed 11 rebounds with eight points.

The Eagles controlled the Blazers in the rebounding category, 40-27, during the contest. Elms connected on 51.7% (30-of-58) from the field, including 30.4% (7-of-23) from three-point range, and 70.6% (12-of-17) from the free throw stripe. Daniel Webster shot 43.3% (26-of-60) from the floor, 30% (6-of-20) from three-point, and 60% (12-of-20) from the foul line.

The Blazers will be back on the court with a conference road trip to Mitchell College Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. tip. Daniel Webster hosts Regis College Saturday at 3:00 p.m.

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