Men’s Basketball Downs Lesley University, 70-48

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Elms College senior guard Andre French (Torrington, Conn.) scored a game-high 17 points as the Blazers posted a 70-48 victory over Lesley University in Saturday evening's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's basketball game.

With the win, Elms has now won four straight to improve to 10-8 overall, 8-1 in league action, while Lesley moves to 5-12 on the season 3-5 in conference play.

In the opening frame, Elms shot 37.9-percent from the field behind a 4 for 4 effort from French from three-point range. French totaled 12 points in the first 20 minutes, while senior forward David McDaniel (Plainfield, N.J.) totaled seven points and five boards in the stanza.

With the score set at 14-14 with 7:23 to play, Elms used a 14-7 run capped by three consecutive treys from French to give the Blazers a 28-21 advantage at intermission.

Lesley's Mike Kaufman (Boca Raton, Fla.) netted six points and Justin Rosa (East Brunswick, N.J.) and Nikalus Oliver (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) finished the frame with five points apiece.

The Blazers' tenacious defense held Lesley to just three points during the stretch en route to a 21-point advantage. From there, Elms held at least a 15-point lead as the Blazers shot 43.9-percent from the floor and held the Lynx to just a 27.3 shooting clip.

McDaniel finished with 12 points and five rebounds, and sophomore forward Kenneth Lockett (Atlanta, Ga.) added seven points and five rebounds.

Senior guard James Black (Baltimore, Md.) was terrific in reserve, swishing 15 points on 4 of 4 shooting from the floor and 7 of 8 from the free throw line. Junior Dustin Trail (East Hartford, Conn.) was also effective off the bench, scoring seven points and pulling down a team-high six boards to help seal the win. 

For Lesley, Kaufman scored a team-high 14 points and added six rebounds, while Brian Glodowski (Roseville, Calif.) followed with eight points. Oliver finished with seven points and a game-high nine rebounds, and Corbin Polec (Okemos, Mich.) chipped in seven points.

Elms returns to NECC action on Tuesday, January 29 when it hosts Daniel Webster College at 7:00 p.m. at Picknelly Arena.