Men's Basketball Downs Mitchell For First Victory

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Elms College men's basketball team posted their first win of the season, defeating host Mitchell College, 82-77, in a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) clash at the Yarnall Athletic Center Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Blazers move to 1-6 on the season and 1-1 in conference play, while the Mariners move to 0-4, and 0-1 in the NECC.

Tied 4-4 after the opening minutes of the first half, the Mariners harnessed early control with a 10-5 run, capped by back-to-back buckets from junior Alan Morgan (Port St. Lucie, Fla.), to hold a 14-9 lead. Four more points from Morgan pushed Mitchell ahead 20-14, but the Blazers evened the score at 20-20 after senior Symon Smith (Oklahoma City, Okla.) canned consecutives treys with 10:21 remaining. The Blazers grabbed their first lead of the contest after sophomore Kyle Wider (New Brunswick, N.J.)  knocked down five straight points, followed by a pair of free throws from senior Conny Ihearahu (Largo, Md.) to give Elms a 27-23 lead. Trailing 31-26, Mitchell rolled to a 7-2 run over the next five minutes to even the game at 33-33 with 1:20 on the clock. Ihearahu jarred a late three-pointer to send the Blazers into the break with a 36-33 advantage.

The Blazers came out hot in the second half, orchestrating an 18-10 run in a six-minute span, featuring eight-point efforts from Smith and senior Trifon Bish (St. Catherine, Jamaica), to build a 58-43 gap with 14:13 remaining. The Mariners whittled away the deficit over the next five-plus minutes, as junior Brayvon Young (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) and sophomore Domenico Santiago (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) netted six points apiece as part of a 19-4 run to tie the game at 62-62. Morgan sandwiched a three-pointer and layup around free throws from sophomore Evan Bing (Woodstock, Ga.) to regain a 73-69 lead for the Mariners. Bish knocked down a three-pointer at the 1:52 mark to cap a 7-3 run by the Blazers to make it a 76-76 game. Smith went perfect from the free throw line in consecutive trips to extend the Elms advantage to 80-77 with 20 seconds to play. With less than ten seconds remaining, the Blazers turned over an inbounds pass, but Mitchell sophomore Gemel McLeod (New London, Conn.) rimmed out a three-point attempt from the top of the key, and Smith connected on a pair of free throws to seal the 82-77 win for Elms.

Smith led all scorers with a game-high 29 points, shooting 5-of-10 from three-point range, with six rebounds and four assists. Bish matched a career-high with 20 points and two rebounds, while Ihearahu logged a double-double with 17 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Freshman DeAngelo Cousar (Bowie, Md.) added eight points and eight rebounds, and Wider established a new career-high with eight points in the win.

Mitchell has four scorers in double figures, paced by Santiago with a team-high 22 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Morgan tallied 16 points with a game-high nine assists and four rebounds. Young chipped in 12 points, and freshman Hasani Williams (Miramar, Fla.) had 10 points and eight rebounds.

The Mariners edges the Blazers on the glass, 40-37, while Elms controlled the second-chance points category, 23-14. Elms connected on 38.2% (26-of-68) from the field, including 40% (12-of-30) from three-point range, and 90% (18-of-20) from the foul line. Mitchell shot 50.8% (32-of-63) from the field, 25% (4-of-16) from three-point, and 47.4% (9-of-19) from the charity stripe.

The Blazers will look to avenge last week's loss when they host Wheelock College in NECC action at Picknelly Arena at 2:00 p.m. Mitchell travels to Albertus Magnus for a non-conference tip Thursday at 7:00 p.m.

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