CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – All five starters including seniors Devon Mayo (Newport News, Va.) and Pierre St. Simon (Farmingdale, N.Y.) reached double figures as Lesley University set a new program record earning their 15th victory with an 87-69 victory over Elms College, Saturday evening.
The two teams split the season series, with each team winning on their home court, as the Lynx close out the regular season with a 15-10 record including a program-best 9-7 record in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action. The Blazers close out the year falling to 4-21 and 4-12 in conference play.
Elms senior forward Conny Ihearahu (Largo, Md.) connected with first year forward DeAngelo Cousar (Bowie, Md.), in the paint, to give the Blazers the 8-7 lead three minutes into the contest. It did not last for very long as the Lynx answered, capitalizing on Blazer turnovers over the next 1:20 to swing momentum over to their bench. Junior guard Marquise Johnson (Hampton, Va.) found sophomore forward Xeo Golding (Windermere, Fla.) at the top of the perimeter for a trey to give the Lynx the 15-8 lead and cap of the 8-0 run.
The Blazers were not going away, responding with their own, three-minute, 7-1 run. Midway through the period, Blazer senior guard Trifon Bish (St. Catherine, Jamaica) pulled the Blazers to within one point, 16-15, but St. Simon pushed the Lynx lead back to three on their next possession.
It remained a close battle for much of the first half. With the Lynx leading by four, 22-18, the Blazers kept the Lynx scoreless over the next two minutes, utilizing a 6-0 run to take their first lead, 24-22, since the opening three minutes. However it continued to stay a back-and-forth battle with two ties and one lead change in the next two minutes.
Trailing by three, 27-24, following a Cousar three-pointer with 6:50 remaining in the half, Mayo came through with a clutch three of his own to tie up the contest and turned the game around. Moments later, Mayo connected with first year guard Treyvon Trent (Virginia Beach, Va.) for another three-pointer to take a 30-27 lead as the Lynx never looked back going into the locker room with the commanding 47-39 advantage.
When the teams returned to the court at the beginning of the second period, the Lynx picked up exactly where they left off, extending their lead to 14 points, 53-39, following a 6-0 run. The Blazers continued to battle and fight their way back into the game but the Lynx offense was much too strong as they were able to fight to their 15th victory of the season.
Mayo led the Lynx netting a game-high 19 points, shooting seven-of-12 from the field including a remarking five-of-nine from the outside. Fellow senior, St. Simon followed up with 17 while Golding was not far behind with 14 points. Johnson and sophomore forward Joey Martin (Melbourne, Fla.) rounded out the Lynx in double-figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
The Blazers forward Symon Smith (Oklahoma City, Okla.) led all scorers netting a game-high 40 points, shooting 14-of-38 from the field including four-of-16 from long range.
Lesley earns their first trip to the NECC Championship tournament since 2009-10 and will host sixth-seeded Regis College Tuesday February 21st in Cambridge, Mass.