Men's Basketball Drops Heartbreaker To Wheelock

CHICOPEE, Mass. - The Elms College men's basketball team lost a heartbreaker to Wheelock College by the score of 69-65 on Thursday night.

The Blazers, once down 18, trailed by only seven at the half thanks to a Chris Ceus three pointer as time expired. Greg Metelus led the charge for Elms after the break, as he finished with 24 points on 11-of-20 shooting, five rebounds, and one assist. Twenty one of Metelus' 24 points came in the second half, as he tried to lead the Blazers' comeback. 

Sophomore Pablo Ortiz finished with 12 points, hitting 4-of-5 3-point attempts. He also grabbed eight rebounds to lead the team.

Wheelock took its first lead at 4-2 just over a minute into the game, and held the advantage until Tyler Sterling nailed a free throw to give Elms a 65-64 lead with one minute remaining. After an Elms turnover, Wheelock forward Kiwane Crowder drilled a clutch step-back three with four seconds remaining to give the Wildcats a 67-65 lead. 

Crowder finished with 17 points. Center Dejuan Rodriguez led the Wildcats with 29 points and 10 boards, to finish with a double-double. Kadeem Apply also chipped in 12 points for the Wildcats.

Wheelock shot 16 free throws compared to just four for the Blazers. The Wildcats went 10-of-16 from the line, as Elms went 2-of-4.

Elms falls to 0-14 on the season and 0-5 in the New England Collegiate Conference.  Wheelock grabs its second win of the year, improving to 2-13 (1-4 NECC). The Blazers will try to claim their first win of the season on Saturday, when they travel to take on Southern Vermont.