Men’s Basketball Knocks Off ENC In NECC Action

Chicopee, MA - The Elms College men's basketball team picked up a huge 74-69 win on Saturday afternoon at Picknelly Arena. The Blazers knocked off the previously undefeated in conference Eastern Nazarene College Lions, Elms improves to (6-14) overall and (2-5) in the NECC.  

A quick 9-0 run gave the visitors a 9-3 edge with 16:45 left to play in the first half.

The Blazers tied things up at 11-11, only to see Eastern Nazarene regained a six-point lead, 19-13, with 9:03 remaining in the opening stanza on a layup. The Lions widened the gap to 30-19 with nine unanswered points with 3:02 to go in the half.

Eastern Nazarene sported a 10-point advantage at the halftime break, 34-24, after shooting 48% from the field with two three-pointers on nine efforts.

Elms cut the deficit to 37-34 with 16:45 left in regulation on a bucket by D.J. Edelen (Prince George, VA). The guests pushed their lead to 44-35 with 15:29 on the clock. The Blazers narrowed the margin to 48-46 on a layup by Nikolas Brown (Wellington, FL) with 10:01 remaining. The Lions claimed a double-digit cushion with 2:57 to go in regulation, 65-55.

The Blazers rattled off 12-consecutive points to vault ahead 67-65 with 1:12 left to play.

Eastern Nazarene knotted the score at 67-67 with 38 seconds to go in the contest on a pair of free throws.

Elms responded with a massive corner three-pointer by Justin Feliciano (Springfield, MA) to nab a 70-67 edge with 19 seconds on the clock before free throws by Feliciano and Edelen pushed the margin to 72-60.

The visitors trimmed the deficit to 72-69 after converting a pair from the charity stripe with four seconds remaining in regulation.

The Blazers sealed the victory with a two late free throws by Tahquell Cadel (Bridgeport, CT).

The Blazers shot 43.1% from the floor and 53.3% from long distance in the game, while holding the Lions to a field-goal percentage of 38.6% and 25% from the three-point line on the day.

Edelen paced Elms with a game-best 20 points while Cadel was big all game with 12 points, six rebounds, five steals, and three assists.

The Blazers are back in action on Wednesday 2/5 at 7PM when they host New England College in NECC play.