Men's Hoops Beaten on the Road by the Monks

STANDISH, Maine - The Elms College Men's Basketball traveled to Saint Joseph's College of Maine for a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) matchup Saturday afternoon.

BASICS
Score: Elms College 55 | Saint Joseph's College of Maine 83
Records: Blazers 3-14, 3-3 (GNAC) | Monks 13-4, 5-1 (GNAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

The conference matchup would begin with Elms drawing first blood as graduate student forward Neilon Bridgeman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) received a pass from senior guard/forward Aaron Sanchez (the Bronx, N.Y.) to score on a jump shot. Saint Joseph's would take the lead shortly thereafter after three successful free throw attempts and a three-point shot, but the Blazers defense would show a strong showing after Sanchez made a steal and junior forward RJ Mayfield (Springfield, Mass.) would block a layup. Even though the Monks continued to add to their lead, the Elms offense would not deterred, with Sanchez connecting with junior guard Aden Goffe (New Haven, Conn.) for a three-point shot, followed by a layup by Sanchez, assisted by Bridgeman, a jump shot by Goffe, and a three-point shot by sophomore guard Jaiden Lopez (Lebanon, Conn.). In their next possession, SJC would continue their attempts of increasing their lead, but the Blazers defense would pause those attempts after Sanchez made a steal that would lead into a layup by senior forward/center Addison Phifer (Hadley, Mass.), followed by a layup from junior forward Adam Sarlan (Chicopee, Mass.). As the first half neared the end, Lopez would make two steals, junior center/guard/forward Edgardo Jacob Cancel (Northampton, Mass.), Phifer, Sanchez would each score layups, a dunk from Mayfield, a jump shot by Goffe, a three-point shot from sophomore guard Andrew Ciaglo (Hadley, Mass.), and a block by Bridgeman, along with steals from junior Max Rolnick (Vaughan, Ontario) and Sanchez, but the Monks would go into the halftime break with a 44-29.

For the opening five minutes of the second half, both teams would struggle to score first until SJC would score five points, but the Elms offense would respond quickly after Sanchez connected with Ciaglo for a three-point shot, followed by a breakaway layup by Goffe. The Monks would continue to tally up points, but the Blazers would not be ignored, as Lopez would connect with Ciaglo for two three-point shots, Phifer would block a layup, Ciaglo would find an open Cancel for a layup, jump shots from sophomore forward/center Lawton Ackah-Yensu (Cape Coast, Ghana) and Cancel, layups from Rolnick and Cancel, and a pair of blocks from first year forward Daniel Villanueva (Seymour, Conn.), along with steals by Lopez and Ackah-Yensu and free throws by Rolnick. Even though Saint Joseph's would win by twenty points, Cancel would sink a final three-point shot for the final basket, with the Monks beating Elms 74-54.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Ciaglo - 12 points, two rebounds, and an assist.

• Cancel - 11 points, four rebounds, and two assists.

• Goffe - nine points, seven rebounds, an assist, and a steal.

• Sanchez - four points, four rebounds, three assists, and three steals.

• Phifer - four points, three rebounds, and block.

• Lopez - four steals, four assists, three points, and two rebounds.

• Bridgeman - two points, a block, and a rebound.

• Mayfield - two points, a block, and a rebound.

• Sarlan - two points and a rebound.

• Villanueva - one point, three rebounds, two blocks, and an assist.

• Ackah-Yensu - two points, two rebounds, and a steal.

• Rolnick - two points, three rebounds, and a steal.

UP NEXT: The Elms College Men's Basketball team will travel to New Haven, Conn. to face Albertus Magnus College in a conference matchup on Wednesday, January 25th at 7:30 pm.

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