CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Elms College senior guard Andre French (Torrington, Conn.) knocked down five three pointers and had a game-high 17 points, leading the Blazers to a 70-48 win over the Lynx. Elms improves to 9-8 on the year and 7-1 in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) play while Lesley falls to 5-11 and 3-4 in the conference.
French was a perfect 4-of-4 from deep as he scored 12 of his 17 in the first half. Seniors James Black (Baltimore, Md.) and David McDaniel (Plainfield, NJ) each were in double figures as well, finishing with 15 and 12, respectively.
Junior Mike Kaufman (Boca Raton, Fla.) led the offense for the Lynx as he was 3-of-6 from three-range and finished with a team-high 14 points to go with his six rebounds. Freshman Brian Gladowski (Roseville, Calif.) chipped in with eight points and five rebounds while Nikalus Oliver (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) finished with seven points and a team-high nine boards. Freshman Corbin Polec (Okemos, Mich.) came off the bench with seven points.
The opening half was a tightly knit affair throughout. After trailing 12-8 after a Jamal Hulum (Norfolk, Va.) made layup, the Lynx got back-to-back threes from Kaufman and sophomore guard Justin Rosa (East Brunswick, NJ) to reclaim a 14-12 advantage.
The Blazers answered right back with a 5-0 run capped by a McDaniel layup, giving them a 17-14 advantage. The Lynx would keep the lead at three until French knocked down two consecutive threes with just over a minute left in the half, extending the lead to nine. A layup by Corbin cut it to seven as Lesley trailed 28-21 at half.
The second half was all Elms as they came out to a 15-2 run over the first eight minutes of play, putting the game out of reach from the Lynx.
The Blazers shot an impressive 44% (25-57) while the Lynx struggled from the field, shooting only 27% (12-44).
Junior Dustin Trail (East Hartford, Conn.) finished with seven points and six rebounds off the bench for Elms while sophomore Kenneth Lockett (Atlanta, Ga.) netted seven and grabbed five boards.
For the Lynx, senior guard Matt Gibson (Quincy, Mass.) and Rosa finished with six and five points, respectively.
Lesley returns to the court on Monday, January 28th as they play host to Wheelock College at 8:00p while Elms hosts Daniel Webster on Tuesday.
