Elms Men’s Basketball Soars Past Newbury

CHICOPEE, Mass. - Elms College junior forward Edgar Martinez (Springfield, Mass.) netted a game-high 22 points and the Blazers snapped a three-game losing skid in a 97-75 victory over Newbury College in Saturday afternoon's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's basketball game at Picknelly Arena.

With the win, Elms improves to 7-4 overall, 1-0 in league play, while Newbury drops to 2-7 on the season, 0-1 in conference action.

Elms sprinted to an early 13-2 lead in the opening 2:31 and maintained at least an eight-point advantage throughout the contest and led by as many as 18 (41 seconds left in the frame), en route to a 52-37 cushion at halftime. Senior point guard Juan Maldonado (Holyoke, Mass.) directed the first half offensive burst by hitting on 7 of 12 from the field, including two from beyond the arc, to total 16 points in the stanza.

Trailing 62-50 with 15:42 remaining in the second period, Newbury chipped its way back into the contest on the strength of a 14-6 run, bringing the Nighthawks to within four points at 68-64 with 10:13 on the clock. Maldonado then buried a three-pointer to put Elms back up by seven, before Newbury's Rondell Best (Taunton, Mass.) delivered a layup to cut the deficit back to five. From there, the Blazers went on an 18-4 run, highlighted by nine points from Martinez, and five from sophomore guard Bryant Corcoran (Wolcott, Conn.) to extend the lead to 89-70 at the 4:16 mark.

A pair of Nighthawks free throws by John Rowley Jr. (Hartford, Conn.) and a trey from Samuel Stanford (Somerville, Mass.) cut the gap to 14 at 89-75, but Newbury could get no closer as Elms sealed its 22-point victory by scoring eight unanswered points. Senior guard Arsenio Avant (Southwest, Fla.) nailed a three pointer, and sophomore guard Luis Santiago (San Juan, Puerto Rico) connected on 3 of 4 from the stripe during the final run.

Martinez finished 10 of 12 from the field and added seven rebounds and three steals in the winning effort, while Maldonado finished with 21 points and paced the Blazers' offense with seven assists in the winning effort.

Senior forward Javon Mathis (East Hartford, Conn.) dropped in 11 points, grabbed nine boards and added five assists, while junior forward Juan Alverio (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico) chipped in nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds off the bench.

Corcoran, Santiago and freshman guard Brittain Purcelle (Tarrytown, N.Y.) each finished with seven points for Elms.

Newbury had four players score in double figures, led by Rowley Jr.'s 18 points. Timothy Young (Brockton, Mass.) scored 15 points, converting four three-pointers, while Chris Torres (Brockton, Mass.) added 10 points. Best finished with the game's only double-double, scoring 14 points and hauling in 10 boards in the losing effort.

Elms returns to NECC action on Tuesday, January 12 when they host Lesley University. Game time is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. at Picknelly Arena.

- Game story provided by Chris Attwood - Director of Sports Information, Elms College

- Game photo provided by Samantha Yanofsky