Posted: Mar 01, 2016

Men's Basketball Earns Four-Seed in ECAC Tournament; Will Face Pine Manor

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College men's basketball has been selected to participate in the 2016 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England Region Tournament, announced by the conference office Monday.

The Blazers were awarded the four-seed in the tournament, and will travel to face fifth-seed Pine Manor College Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two squads. The Blazers are making their third trip to the ECAC Tournament, and their first since the 2013-14 season.

Elms advanced to the semifinals of the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) championship tournament, where they fell to Becker College, 88-79. The Blazers own a 14-12 record entering the ECAC tournament, and are led by NECC Player of the Year Jerry Buchanon (Windsor, Conn.), along with All-NECC Third Team selections Symon Smith (Oklahoma City, Okla.) and Conny Ihearahu (Largo, Md.).

Pine Manor, a member of the Great South Athletic Confernce (GSAC), wrapped the 2015-16 regular season with a 15-10 mark, including winning three of their last four games to close the season. The Gators have four scorers averaging double figures, led by Taverick Roberson with a team-high 18.7 points per game. Chancie Williams is adding 13.5 points, while Curtis Hyman is pulling down a team-high 8.4 rebounds with 11.4 points. Rasheed Bell is chipping in 10.3 points and 4.6 rebounds a game.

Elms and Pine Manor faced two common opponents during the season, Daniel Webster and Green Mountain. The Blazers defeated Daniel Webster twice, 79-70 & 65-57, while the Gators fell to the Eagles, 88-84. Against Green Mountain, the Blazers lost 100-97, while Pine Manor collected a 112-103 win over Green Mountain.

ECAC DIII NEW ENGLAND BRACKET

First Round – Wednesday, March 2 at Pine Manor

#4 Elms (14-12) vs. #5 Pine Manor College (15-12) – 7:00 p.m.

Semifinals – Saturday, March 5 at Colby-Sawyer College

Semifinal #1: No. 1 Nichols (23-4) vs. No. 4 Elms/No. 5 Pine Manor winner – 1:00 p.m.

Semifinal #2: No. 3 Anna Maria vs. No. 2 Colby-Sawyer – 3:00 p.m.

Championship – Sunday, March 6 at Colby-Sawyer College

Winner Semifinal #1 vs. Winner Semifinal #2 – 2:00 p.m.

ELMS BASKETBALL