Trinity Powers Past Men's Basketball
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Trinity (Conn.) (1-2) | 57 | 31 | 88 |
|
Elms (0-4) | 22 | 37 | 59 |
Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)
CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College men's basketball squad suffered a 88-59 setback to the visiting Trinity College Bantams in their 2016-17 home opener at Picknelly Arena Tuesday night. The Blazers dip to 0-4 on the season, while Trinity improves to 1-2.
The Bantams came out hot in the first half, racing to a 15-0 lead in the opening three minutes behind six-point efforts from seniors Chris Turnbull (Ridgewood, N.J.) and Ed Ogundeko (Brooklyn, N.Y.). The Blazers chipped away at the deficit with a three-point play from senior Conny Ihearahu (Largo, Md.) cutting the gap to 24-10 at the 11:14 mark. Leading 30-16, the Bantams pushed the pace, orchestrating a 22-6 run over the next five minutes, fueling by four three-pointers from Turnbull to expand the Trinity lead to 52-22 with 2:10 left in the first half. Ogundeko delivered a dunk and a three-pointer in the final minutes to give the Bantams a 57-22 lead at the half.
The Bantams carried their momentum into the second half as a layup from Eric Gendron (Merrimack, N.H.) pushed the Trinity advantage to 63-22 with 17:47 remaining. A quick 12-57 spurt by Elms, featuring eight points by senior Symon Smith (Oklahoma City, Okla.), whittled the deficit to 70-34 with 12:26 on the clock. Trinity slowed down the Blazers with an 11-5 run, capped by a jumper from Judah Woney (New York, N.Y.) to give the Bantams their largest lead of the game, 81-39. The Blazers closed the game on a high not, outscoring the Bantams, 20-7, but eventual fell 88-59.
The Blazers had three scorers in double figures, led by Smith with a team-high 18 points with a game-high four assists and two steals. Ihearahu had 13 points, three rebounds and two blocks, while freshman Diomanni Fernandez (Tamarac, Fla.) netted a career-high 10 points off the bench.
Turnbull paced 13 scorers from Trinity with a game-high 27 points, shooting 6-of-8 from three-point range, with four rebounds. Ogundeko logged a double-double with 19 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Sophomore Jeremy Arthur (Westbury, N.Y.) tallied nine points and seven rebounds. Senior Langdon Neal (Chicago, Ill.) added seven points, while junior Eric Gendron (Merrimack, N.H) grabbed six rebounds in the win.
The Bantams doubled the Blazers in rebounding, 56-25, during the contest. Elms connected on 30.5% (18-of-59) from the field and 72% (18-of-25) from the foul line. Trinity shot 51.4% from the floor, including 48% (12-of-25) from three-point range, and 57.1% (4-of-7) from the free throw stripe.
The Blazers will look to collect their first win when they travel to Fitchburg State for a non-conference tip November 29th at 5:30 p.m. Trinity heads to Keene State for non-conference action November 30th at 7:00 p.m.
ELMS BASKETBALL
