CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College men's basketball team sent their senior off in style, defeating visiting Lesley University, 74-60, in a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) tilt at Picknelly Arena Saturday afternoon.
Prior to tip-off, the Blazers recognized their departing seniors: Tyler Scott (Salem, Ore.), Piere Simpson (East Hartford, Conn.), and Kenny Lockett (Atlanta, Ga.).
The teams started the contest on a slow note with combined 12 points in the opening four minutes. Knotted 9-9 at the 15:26 mark, the Blazers took control behind a 17-4 run over the next eight minutes, fueled by points from five different scorers, to capture a 26-13 advantage. Seven points from senior Kenny Lockett (Atlanta, Ga.) in a four minute window extended the Elms lead to 34-15 before the Blazers took a 38-21 lead into the break.
A three-pointer from Simpson capped a 13-10 shootout in the opening four minutes of the second half. The Lynx whittled their deficit to 55-38 behind a pair of free throws from senior Justin Rosa (East Brunswick, N.J.) at the 7:45 mark. Elms pushed their advantage back into the twenties as Lockett buried a pair of free throw with 4:08 on the clock. The Lynx outscored the Blazers, 15-8, down the stretch as Elms held on for the 74-60 win.
Lockett matched a season-high with 23 points, along with a game-high 12 rebounds, for his sixth double-double of the season. Junior Jerry Buchanon (Windsor, Conn.) added 10 points and three boards while sophomore Trifon Bish (Hartford, Conn.) chipped in eight points and three rebounds off the bench. Scott and Simpson recorded seven points apiece.
Rosa led the Lynx with 22 points and four rebounds. The senior caps his season with a career-high 393 points on the season. Junior Corbin Polec (Okemos, Mich.) scored 15 points with five rebounds, and sophomore Jacob DiDomenico (N. Providence, R.I.) grabbed a team-high eight rebounds with six points.
The Blazers edged the Lynx in rebounding, 39-32, during the contest. Elms doubled Lesley in the paint, 32-16, and outscored the Lynx bench, 25-2. The Blazers shot 50.9% (27-of-53) from the floor, including 30.8% (4-of-13) from three-point range, and 69.6% (16-of-23) from the foul line. Lesley was 32.2% (19-of-59) from the field, 28.6% (4-of-14) from three-point, and 81.8% (18-of-22) from the free throw stripe.
The Blazers improved to 11-13 overall, and 10-6 in NECC play to wrap the regular season. The Lynx dropped to 2-23 on the season, and 2-14 in the conference standings. Elms heads to the conference tournament as the #3-seed, and will host the #7-seed in the first round at Picknelly Arena Tuesday night.
Release Courtesy Elms College Sports Information