Men's Basketball Falls at Elms

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College men's basketball team cruised past Mitchell College by a 101-61 final in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action on Saturday afternoon at Picknelly Arena.

The Blazers improved to 3-5 on the season (1-1 NECC) while Mitchell fell to 1-4 overall (0-1 NECC). Jerry Buchanon scored all of his game-high 29 points in the first half as Elms jumped out to a big lead and never looked back. Senior Donavan McClean paced the Mariners with 15 points.

Buchanon took the game over early in the first half, netting the opening 16 points for the Blazers as they raced out to a 16-5 lead in the first four minutes. Leading by 10 with 13:24 in the half, the Blazers created separation with a 24-8 run over an eight-minute stetch. Buchanon netted seven points during the span as Elms increased the margin to 44-18. The Blazers then finished the half on a 15-9 run to take a 59-27 lead into the intermission.

Six consecutive points from Conny Ihearahu, capped off with an alley-op dunk at the 16:07 mark, pushed the Elms advantage to 67-29 in the second half. With 9:27 to play, Trifon Bish intercepted a pass to the wing and delivered a fast break jam to put Elms up 80-39. A pair of free throws from Sirvaughn Hobdy gave the Blazers their largest lead of the contest, 95-51, with 3:39 remaining. 

Buchanon shot 11-for-16 from the floor and added seven assists, four rebounds and four steals. He also became the eighth player in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Ihearahu chipped in 15 points with a team-high seven rebounds. Bish and Devonte Marshall added 11 points apiece, while Symon Smith dished out a season-high 10 assists to go with five points, three rebounds and two steals.

Freshman Domenico Santiago continued his strong rookie campaign with a double-double of 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Senior Frank Martin tallied nine points while sophomores Alan Morgan and Brayvon Young each chipped in eight.

Mitchell will wrap up the fall semester with a non-conference contest at home against Fisher College on December 16 at 5:30 p.m.