Men’s Basketball Advances to NECC Championship Tournament Title Game with 80-78 Victory over Mitchell College

CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College senior guard Andre French (Torrington, Conn.) scored a team-high 21 points as the top-seeded Blazers pulled out a thrilling 80-78 victory over No. 4 Mitchell College to advance to its fifth consecutive New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Championship tournament title game on Friday evening at Picknelly Arena.

With the win, Elms improves to 17-9 on the season, while Mitchell concludes its season 14-12 overall. The Blazers will square off against No. 3 Regis College which defeated No. 2 Newbury College, 66-59 in Friday evening's other semifinal contest. That game will tip-off at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. 

French led three Elms players who scored in double figures with his 21-point effort while sophomore forward Kenneth Lockett (Atlanta, Ga.) was tremendous on both ends of the floor totaling 19 points on 8 of 10 shooting from the field to go along with a game-high 15 rebounds.

Sophomore guard Piere Simpson (East Hartford, Conn.) was also effective scoring 10 points while dishing out six assists. Senior forward Jamal Hulum (Norfolk, Va.) added nine points and nine rebounds for the Blazers who shot 39.0-percent from the floor.

Mitchell received an outstanding performance from Joshua Ford (Jersey City, N.J.) who poured in a game-best 23 points to highlight four Mariners who scored in double digits. Anthony Epps (Norwalk, Conn.) hit on 5 of 12 shots and finished with 14 points, while Devonta Mosley (Gainesville, Fla.) and Alex Del Rio (New Britain, Conn.) swished 12 and 10 points respectively.

Ford led Mitchell on the glass with nine boards, Epps and Michael Pellegrini (Middletown, Conn.) secured eight rebounds each, Del Rio finished with six assists and Mosley added five helpers in the losing effort for the Mariners who shot 47.6-percent as a team.

In a game that was tightly contested throughout, Pellegrini connected for a pair of free throws with 2:17 remaining in regulation to bring the game to its 13^th stalemate at 76-76. Elms' senior forward Darius Griffin (Winter Haven, Fla.) answered with a layup to give the Blazers an 78-76 advantage with 1:52 to play.

Simpson then took advantage of a turnover on Mitchell's ensuing possession and drained a jumper to give the Blazers a four-point, 80-76 lead with 1:07 on the clock. Ford delivered a tough bucket underneath with 49 seconds remaining to pull the Mariners to within two and after Elms' next shot was blocked, had a chance at the game-tying layup but could not convert as the Blazers held on for a thrilling 80-78 victory.