Chicopee, Mass. - Sophomore guard Dan Gonzalez (East
Windsor, Conn.) scored 14 points, as the Elms College
Blazers pulled away to a 71-62 win over the Trinity College Bantams
in men's basketball action this afternoon at the Maguire
Center. Trinity falls to 2-5 with its second loss in a
row. The Blazers, ranked No. 16 in the nation, improve to 8-0
for the first time in program-history. The win was also
Elms College's first in six all-time meetings against Trinity.
Elms College started slow on the offensive end and could only
muster a free throw by senior guard Ellis Jones (Malden,
Mass.), a layup by junior forward Javon Mathis
(West Hartford, Conn.) and a putback by senior
forward Malakie Berry (Enfield, Conn.) over the
first 5:43. The Blazers' defense, however, was tenacious
early on, as Trinity was held scoreless for the game's opening 6:18
until sophomore Jared Pimm (Chelmsford,
Mass.) converted a tip-in to get the Bantams on the
board. Elms College then roared to life with a 16-2 run over
the next 5:07 to take its largest lead of the half at 21-4.
The Bantams answered with a 21-7 run to cut the deficit to 28-25
with 1:01 remaining as sophomore guard Brian Ford (Bronx,
N.Y.) helped key the run with all five of his first
half points during that stretch. A free throw and a jumper by
Elms in the final minute of the half extended the Blazers' lead to
31-25 at intermission. Both teams struggled offensively in
the first half, as Elms College shot just 33.3-percent (9 of 27),
while Trinity was 9 of 29 (31.0-percent). The two teams connected
on just 3 of 17 attempts from 3-point range in the opening 20
minutes.
Pimm's 3-pointer with 8:46 remaining in regulation cut the
Blazers' lead to just 52-44. Senior forward Ronald
Thomas (Chicago, Ill.) converted a layup and senior guard
Joe Esile (Milford, Conn.) followed with a
3-pointer in the next 46 seconds as part of a 10-3 run that gave
the Blazers the lead for good at 62-47 with 4:37 remaining.
Gonzalez, who scored 14 points two other times this season,
finished 4-for-9 from the field and included a pair of 3-pointers
in 20 minutes of action. Mathis finished with 11 points
and seven rebounds in 22 minutes, and senior point guard
Aswad Thomas (Hartford, Conn.) added 10 points, a
team-high six assists and a game-high three steals for Elms
College. Ford scored a game-high 15 points in just 22
minutes and Pimm finished with 11 points as the only two Bantams to
reach double figures in the losing effort.
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