Men's Basketball Clips Daniel Webster

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College men's basketball team overcame a first half deficit to defeat visiting Daniel Webster College, 65-57, in a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) matchup at Picknelly Arena Tuesday night. With the win, the Blazers improve to 10-9 on the season, and 8-3 in league play, while the Eagles sink to 4-6 in the NECC and 7-12 overall.

The Blazers opened the contest grabbing a 4-1 lead on buckets from sophomores Keeshaun King (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Devonte Marshall (Springfield, Mass.). A fast-break dunk from senior Jamaal Gary (Bloomfield, Conn.) at the 13:47 mark pushed the Elms advantage to 10-5. Blazers junior Symon Smith (Oklahoma City, Okla.) knocked down a trey to extend the Elms lead to 13-7, but the Eagles battled back with a 8-2 run, powered by four-point efforts from junior Rondell Best (Brockton, Mass.) and Michael Campbell (Mount Vernon, N.Y.), to knot the game at 15-15 with 9:39 left in the half. The Blazer rebuild a 22-18 lead, until 8-4 run by Daniel Webster put the teams square at 26-26. The Eagles closed the half with four points in the final minute to take a 30-28 lead into the intermission.

Smith knocked down a three-pointer to spark a 9-2 run for the Blazers, spanning the first seven minutes of the half, to hand Elms a 37-32 lead. The Eagles trimmed the deficit to one, 39-38, on a layup from freshman Jared Harrington (Upper Marlboro, Md.) with 11:54 remaining. Elms rebuilt a 46-39 lead behind a 7-1 run, but back-to-back buckets from Campbell made it a one possession game, 46-43. The Blazers kept Daniel Webster at bay as senior Jerry Buchanon (Windsor, Conn.) and junior Trifon Bish (St. Catherine, Jamaica) buried a consecutive trey, followed by a pair of baskets from Buchanon to extend Elms advantage to 55-48. A three-pointer from Buchanon at the 2:10 mark gave the Blazers their largest lead of the game, 59-49. The Eagles mounted a final rally as junior Angelo Adon (Silver Spring, Md.) knocked down a pair of threes to cut the deficit to 63-57, but Smith connected on a pair of free throws to stifle the Eagles comeback and secure the 65-57 win.

Buchanon powered the Blazers in the second half with 13 points en route to a team-high 22 points, along with seven rebounds, three steals and two assists. Smith netted 14 points with three steals and three rebounds, while Marshall chipped in eight points with five rebounds, two blocks and two assists. Junior Conny Ihearahu (Largo, Md.) hauled in a team-high nine rebounds with three points.

The Eagles were led by Best with a double-double with team-high 20 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Adon tallied 12 points and four rebounds, and Campbell recorded nine points and three rebounds off the bench.

The Blazers edged the Eagles on the glass, 39-37, during the contest. Elms connected on 42.9% (24-of-56) from the floor, including 29.2% (7-of-24) from three-point range, and 71.4% (10-of-14) from the foul line. Daniel Webster shot 38.7% (24-of-62) from the field, 18.8% (3-of-16) from three-point, and 50% (6-of-12) from the free throw stripe.

The Blazers will return to action against Becker in NECC action at Picknelly Arena Thursday night at 8:00 p.m. The Eagles host Wheelock in conference play Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

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