Men's Basketball Downs Lesley in Regular Season Finale

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Elms College men's basketball team downed host Lesley University, 77-65, in a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) tilt to close the 2015-16 regular season at Nicholas Athletics Center Saturday night. The Blazers move to 14-11 on the season, and 12-4 in conference play, while Lesley sits at 4-12 in the NECC, and 5-20 overall.

Trailing 6-3 in the opening minutes, Elms junior Symon Smith (Oklahoma City, Okla.) netted five straight points to put the Blazers on top 8-6 with 16:06 on the clock. Elms maintained an advantage behind a three-point play from junior Conny Ihearahu (Largo, Md.) and a layup from senior Jerry Buchanon (Windsor, Conn.) handed the Blazers a 17-12 lead. Lesley junior Devon Mayo (Newport News, Va.) knocked down five straight points to pull the Lynx even at 17-17 with 11:32 remaining in the frame. Tied at 22-22 after a five-point surge from Lesley junior Fabrice Louissaint (Everett, Mass.), the Blazers pushed ahead with a 5-0 run, followed by a three-pointer from junior Trifon Bish (St. Catherine, Jamaica) with 6:08 on the clock to build a 30-24 lead. With Elms ahead 31-24, the Lynx closed the frame on the third three-pointer from senior Corbin Polec (Okemos, Mich.) and a layup from junior Pierre St. Simon (Farmingdale, N.Y.), but the Blazers used a pair of free throws from sophomore Chris Ceus (Lake Worth, Fla.) and Buchanon to grab a 35-29 advantage heading into the break.

Smith potted the first three buckets of the half for the Blazers to push the lead to 41-32 at the 17:30 mark. After a bucket from Ihearahu gave Elms a 43-36 lead, the Lynx responded with a 5-0 run to whittle the deficit to 43-41 with 13:43 remaining. A layup from Lesley junior Terrell Toney (Lakewood, Mich.) put the Lynx within two points, 45-43, but the Blazers remained ahead with a 7-0 run capped by a trey from sophomore Andre Wright (Danbury, Conn.) to make it a 52-43 game. A three-point play from Buchanon at the 7:57 mark maintained a 58-50 edge for the Blazers. Smith canned a pair of free throws to hand the Blazers a double-digit lead, 62-52, but Lesley answered on five straight points from Polec to cut it to a 62-57 game with 5:26 to play. Elms padded the lead with four free throws and a three-pointer from Smith gave the Blazers a 69-57 advantage with 3:39 on the clock. A jumper from Buchanon put Elms up 74-59, but Polec jarred back-to-back three-pointers to cut the deficit to 75-65 with 1:10 to go. The Blazers locked up the 77-65 victory from the free throw line in the final minute.

The Blazers had four scorers in double figures, led by a team-high 19 points, shooting 7-of-12 from the floor, with three rebounds and two assists. Buchanon notched his second double-double of the season with 17 points and a career-high 12 rebounds, while Ihearahu tallied 12 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore Devonte Marshall (Springfield, Mass.) added 10 points and six rebounds, while Ceus notched six points and six rebounds.

Lesley was paced by a game-high 25 points from Polec, connecting on 7-of-16 from three-point range, with six rebounds and two assists. Mayo recorded a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while St. Simon netted eight points with six rebounds and senior Chris Barletta (Valrico, Fla.) dished out a game-high eight assists with six points and four rebounds.

The Blazers edged the Lynx in rebounding, 45-39, and dominated bench points, 31-11, during the contest. Elms connected on 41.4% (24-of-58) from the floor, including 29.4% (5-of-17) from three-point range, and 72.7% (24-of-32) from the foul line. Lesley shot 34.7% (25-of-72) from the field, 31.6% (12-of-38) from three-point, and 75% (3-of-4) from the free throw stripe.

The Blazers will head to the NECC Tournament as the second-seed, earning a first-round bye and will face the winner of the contest between third-seed Becker College and sixth-seed Mitchell College on Friday, February 26^th at tournament host Southern Vermont College. The Lynx wrapped up competition for the season.

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