CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Elms College senior Andre French (Torrington, Conn.) notched a game-high 23 points, eight assists, and four steals to lead the Blazers to an 86-76 win over Lesley University in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action tonight at Buckingham, Browne, and Nichols. The win improves Elms to an even 10-10 on the year and 8-3 in conference play while the Lynx fall to 2-14 overall and remain winless, 0-8, in the NECC.
Isaiah Odunlami (Providence, R.I.) added fifteen points for the Blazers while junior Kenny Lockett (Atlanta, Ga.) completed his third consecutive double-double, and ninth double-double on the season, with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Lockett was efficient down low, shooting 6-of-10 on the night. Sophomore Derek Murphy (Columbia, Md.) was also in double figures for the Blazers, finishing with 11 points, eight of which came in the first half.
Freshman Trevonn Lewis (Chicago, Ill.) paced the Lesley attack with a team-high 21 points of 10-of-16 shooting. Senior Mike Kaufman (Boca Raton, Fla.) knocked down six triples on his way to 18 points while junior Nikalus Oliver (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) finished with nine points, a team-high eight rebounds, and four assists.
Elms held the advantage down low, outscoring Lesley 46-38 in the paint while they turned 17 offensive boards in 19 second chance points.
The visitors jumped out to an early 11-2 edge over the first four minutes of play due in large part to five points from French. Kaufman would nearly erase the deficit by knocking down three straight three's to spark a Lesley 12-2 streak. A Justin Rosa (East Brunswick, N.J.) three-point play would give the Lynx a 14-13 lead with 12:23 to go, but the run would be halted by a Murphy triple from the top of the key.
Murphy's triple would ignite a ferocious 16-2 run for the Blazer's which he capped with another triple. Odunlami chipped in with six points on the streak with all three buckets coming off feeds from French.
The Lynx would cut the lead down to five, 35-30, but back-to-back Lockett free throws and a three-pointer from freshman Dimitri Tessier (Brockton, Mass.) with two-seconds left on the clock gave the visitors a 40-30 edge at the break.
Midway through the second half, the Blazers held a 58-49 advantage before running away with a 17-6 streak to give them a commanding 75-55 lead with 5:15 left to play.
Trailing 82-61 with under three minutes left, the Lynx would make one final push with a 15-4 streak, but it was too little too late as the Blazers capped the 86-76 victory.
The Lynx return to action on Tuesday, February 4th when they travel to Southern Vermont College for a 7:00p tip-off while the Blazers will play host to Daniel Webster College at 4:00p on Saturday, February 1st.