Men's Basketball Comes Up Short at Westfield State

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Elms College men's basketball team fell to host Westfield State, 73-71, in non-conference action at the Woodward Center Wednesday night. The Blazers move to 11-10 overall, while Westfield State sits at 10-12 on the season.

The Blazers grabbed a 6-1 lead behind six straight points from sophomore Keeshaun King (Jacksonville, Fla.) in the opening two minutes of play. Junior Conny Ihearahu (Largo, Md.) knocked down a three-pointer at the 16:23 mark to extend the Elms advantage to 11-3. The Owls responded with a 12-4 run, capped off by a trey from junior Jesus Sanchez (Springfield, Mass.) to knot the game at 15-15. A pair of free throw from Sanchez pushed the Westfield lead to 27-20 with 10:30 left in the half. The Blazers erased the deficit as three consecutive three-pointers from junior Symon Smith (Oklahoma City, Okla.), sophomore Andre Wright (Danbury, Conn.) and senior Jerry Buchanon (Windsor, Conn.) sparked an 18-3 run over the next five minutes to hand Elms a 38-30 lead. The Owls trimmed the deficit to 40-37, but buckets from Buchanon in the final minute gave the Blazers a 44-41 lead heading into the intermission.

Five straight points from Buchanon and a dunk from Ihearahu expanded the Blazers advantage to 51-41 with 17:04 remaining in the second half. The Owls rallied behind Sanchez, who poured in 14 points during a 21-11 run by Westfield State to even the score at 62-62 with 8:17 on the clock. The Owls carried their momentum and an offensive rebound and put-back from junior Shane Pasquantonio (Ashland, Mass.) pushed Westfield to a 70-64 lead with 3:40 to go. The Blazers answered with a 7-0 run, featuring five points from Smith, to grab a 71-70 lead. With the Owls trailing, Pasquantonio converted a layup in the paint and made the free throw on the three-point play to put Westfield up 73-71. On their final possession, Buchanon came up short on the potential game-winning three-pointer for Elms, as the Owls escaped with the 73-71 win.

The Blazers had three scorers in double figures, led by a team-high 20 points, six rebounds and four assists from Buchanon. Smith chipped in 14 points and two assists, while Ihearahu recorded his eight double-double of the season with a game-high 13 rebounds and 11 points. Sophomore Devonte Marshall (Springfield, Mass.) added eight points and seven rebounds, and King had and game-high four steals with six points.

Sanchez paced the Owls with a game-high 26 points, shooting 9-of-15 from the field, with five rebounds and three assists. Pasquantonio logged a double-double effort of 13 points and a team-high 11 rebounds, while junior Jose Allen (Amherst, Mass.) tallied 13 points and three rebounds.

Westfield State controlled the rebounding category, 41-33, points in the paint, 32-24, and bench points, 17-12. The Blazers connected on 46.8% (29-of-62) from the field, including 32% (8-of-25) from three-point range, and a season-low 41.7% (5-of-12) from the foul line. The Owls shot 45.9% (28-of-61) from the floor, 40% (6-of-15) from three-point, and 55% (11-of-20) from the free throw stripe.

The Blazers travel to Regis College for a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) battle Saturday at 4:00 p.m. The Owls will return to the Woodward Center to host Salem State in MASCAC play Saturday at 3:00 p.m.

ELMS BASKETBALL