Elms Knocks Off MBB

CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College posted a 93-66 victory over Mitchell College in a New England Collegiate Conference men's basketball match-up on Saturday afternoon at Picknelly Arena.

Andre French scored a game-high 22 points to lead four Blazers in double figures. With the win, Elms improved to 13-8 overall, 11-1 in NECC play, while Mitchell moved to 10-10 on the season, 6-6 in league action.

Elms shot 44 percent from the floor led by an 8-for-15 shooting performance by French, who added four treys. Jamal Hulum added 12 points and four steals while Derek Murphy and Jerry Buchanon scored 11 and 10 points each off the bench.

Dustin Trail came off the bench to score nine points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field, while Isaiah Odunlami and Kenneth Lockett pulled down a team-high seven rebounds each. French and Murphy dished out four assists each, and both joined Lockett and Buchanon with three steals.

Mitchell was led by freshman Dylan LaPorta who scored 10 points, and classmate Devonta Mosley swished nine points off the bench to lead the Mariners. Sophomore Alex Pires and junior Anthony Epps added eight points each, while Epps secured a game-best eight rebounds in the losing effort.

After playing to a 10-10 tie in the first 5:20 of the contest, Elms began to pull away, notching its lead to as many as 19 when French hit a jumper with 51 seconds left in the first stanza. The Blazers held a 46-27 cushion at halftime.

In the second half, Pires canned a three-pointer and Mitchell pulled to within 15 on a strike from three-point range by junior Alex Del Rio, but that's as close as the Mariners would get. Elms continued to apply defensive pressure and maintained its lead. A jumper by Tyler Scott gave the Blazers their largest lead (31 points) at 86-55. 

Mitchell returns to action at Newbury College on Thursday, February 7 at 7 p.m.