WESTON, Mass. - Elms College used a 13-2 run late in the second half to rally for a 77-68 victory over Regis College on Tuesday night in New England Collegiate Conference men's basketball action. The Pride fall to 3-10 overall and 2-3 in the NECC, while Elms improves to 6-8 this year and 4-2 in league games.
Freshman Sam Jean-Gilles (Melrose, Mass.) recorded his third-straight double-double with a team-high 18 points and 10 rebounds in the setback. Osanto Marc Jr. (Kissimmee, Fla.) added 14 points, while Ethan Peana (Staten Island, N.Y.) recorded 11 points, five rebounds, and a team-high six assists. The Pride shot 47.5-percent from field and 38.5-percent from the three-point line.
Elms shot 53.8-percent from the floor and 73.9-percent from the stripe, led by Isaiah Odunlami's (Providence, R.I.) 9-for-11 showing at the free throw line and game-high 21 points. Sophomore guard Derek Murphy (Columbia, Md.) and freshman forward Conny Ihearahu (Largo, Md.) each scored 18 points and guard Andre French (Torrington, Conn.) finished with 12 to round out four Blazers in double figures.
Junior forward Kenny Lockett (Atlanta, Ga.) tied for the team high in rebounds with nine along with Odunlami who also grabbed nine boards. Ihearahu finished with seven rebounds and Lockett added six points. French dished out a game-high six assists and Odunlami followed with five. Elms outscored Regis, 16-3 on points off turnovers and also outscored the Pride in second chance points, 16-6.
In a back-and-forth contest that featured stellar shooting by both teams, Regis built a seven point lead (25-18) on a Peana layup at the 9:07 mark of the first stanza to give the Pride its largest lead of the contest.
Elms battled back and took a 34-33 lead with 36 seconds left in the half on the second of Murphy's three treys, but a Jean-Gilles layup with four ticks on the clock allowed Regis to post a 35-34 lead at intermission.
In the second half, Regis maintained a slim cushion but could never run its lead to more than seven points. The Blazers, trailing 51-50 with 12:40 to play used a swish from long distance by French to take a 53-51 lead and a jumper by Lockett at the 11:44 mark extended Elms' lead to 55-51.
Jordan Monts (Springfield, Mass.) drained a triple and Marc Jr. powered in a layup with just over 10 minutes remaining in the contest to give Regis the lead once again.
With the score knotted at 60-60 with 6:55 to play, Elms went on a 13-2 run highlighted by seven consecutive made free throws to give the Blazers a 73-62 lead with 1:23 on clock.
A dunk by Lockett set the score at 77-65 with 35 seconds left giving Elms its largest advantage of the game before a trey by Jean-Gilles set the final score at 77-68.
The Pride return to action on Saturday afternoon when they host Southern Vermont College in a 2:00 p.m. conference game.
Release courtesy of Elms College Sports Information