Men's Basketball Loses in Overtime in Season Finale

NEWTON, MA - The Elms College Men's Basketball completed their 2023-24 season when they lost their conference matchup against Lasell University in overtime on the road Saturday afternoon.

BASICS
Score: Elms College 70 | Lasell University 73
Records: Blazers 5-20, 3-11 (GNAC) | Lasers 16-9, 10-4 (GNAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Elms started off red hot on offense, as a group of Blazers that included graduate student Tahquell Cadle (Bridgeport, CT) and sophomore RJ Mayfield (Springfield, MA) got Elms off to an 11-0 start before the first media timeout. Lasell could not stop the Blazers in the paint, and junior Aaron Sanchez (the Bronx, NY) took advantage of that by making layups and getting to the free throw line for easy points. The Blazers extended their lead off a pair of back to back threes from Mayfield and senior Neilon Bridgeman (Brooklyn, NY), as Lasell had no answer for the Blazers offense early. Lasell found their groove and trimmed the Elms lead down to single digits with some quick baskets on offense. A made jump shot from Mayfield with a little over a minute gave the Blazers a 33-27 lead, which they took into halftime. 

Lasell came out firing in the second half, as the Blazer defense had no answer for the Lasers. Elms saw their lead trimmed all the way down to just 1 point. Mayfield and Cadle responded after an Elms timeout, scoring some jump shots and layups to give the Blazers some breathing room. The Lasers would not go away though, and took their first lead with about 12 minutes left in the game. The Blazers started to struggle to score, but played good defense against Lasell, limiting the Lasers chances at scoring baskets also. Down 5 points with 40 seconds left, junior Kishaun Cole (Sleepy Hollow, NY) hit a three pointer and Cadle made a layup to cut the Blazers deficit to just 1. With 8 seconds left, senior Teron Griffin (Harlem, NY) hit a crucial free throw to send the game to overtime.

Lasell jumped out to a 5 point lead early in the overtime periord, but Mayfield and Sanchez both scored to make the Elms deficit to just three. A game tying three by the Blazers was missed at the buzzer, and the Blazers fell to Lasell in the season finale. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Mayfield - 21 points, 6 rebounds 

• Sanchez - 11 points, 10 rebounds

• Cadle - 13 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists

• Griffin - 5 points, 12 rebounds

• Cole - 10 points, 3 rebounds

UP NEXT: This marks the end of the 2023-24 season for Elms men's basketball. Congratulations to the entire team on their season!

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