Brown's 27-Point Outburst Powers Blazers To 84-71 Win Over Lesley

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College men's basketball team used a 17-2 second-half run to erase a double-digit halftime deficit and pick up its first win of the season on Tuesday, an 84-71 triumph over Lesley in New England Collegiate Conference play.

The Blazers (1-10, 1-3 NECC) trailed 44-33 at the break and 48-37 early in the second half before the 17-2 run put them ahead, 54-50. Lesley cut that lead in half with a bucket but Elms responded with an 11-1 run to build the advantage to 65-54 with eight minutes to play. In all, the Blazers outscored the Lynx (1-10, 0-3 NECC) 28-5 over a nine minute stretch to take control of the game.

Nikolas Brown (Wellington, Fla.) was dominant for Elms, leading all players with 27 points and 15 boards. He hit 12-of-17 from the field, including his only 3-point attempt of the contest. Kewan Smoot (Windsor, Conn.) added 14 points off the bench on 5-of-7 shooting and collected eight rebounds. Justin Feliciano (Springfield, Mass.) finished with 13 points and six assists without a turnover and D.J. Edelen (Prince George, Va.) added 12 points and nine boards for the Blazers.

Elms shot 56.7 percent (17-of-30) from the field in the second half and 47.7 percent (31-of-65) for the game. Lesley built its halftime lead by shooting 53.1 percent (17-of-32) from the field in the first 20 minutes but cooled off in the second half to shoot 45.6 percent (26-of-57) for the game.

Treyvon Trent (Virginia Beach, Va.) and Joey Martin (Melbourne, Fla.) each eclipsed the 20-point mark for the Lynx. Trent led Lesley with 26 points, nine rebounds and six assists while Martin added 23 points and 10 boards.

The Blazers committed a season-low 11 turnovers in the game and forced the Lynx into 18 giveaways, leading to a 19-9 lead in points-off-turnovers for Elms. The Blazers also controlled the glass, out-rebounding Lesley 46-33, including 15-6 on the offensive end, which led to a 16-4 advantage in second-chance points.

Elms will step out of NECC play to visit Norwich on Jan. 10. Lesley will also be in action on Thursday, hosting NECC foe Eastern Nazarene.