Collins Pours in 17 as Men's Basketball Falls to Elms
Chicopee, Mass. – Elms College sophomore guard Jerry Buchanon (Windsor, Conn.) poured in a game-high 27 points including 15 in the first half as the Blazers upended Framingham State University, 73-57 in Saturday afternoon's non-conference men's basketball game at Picknelly Arena.
With win, Elms improves to 3-6 overall, while Framingham State moves to 4-6 on the season.
Framingham State jumped out to an early 7-0 lead over the first 3:39 of the contest thanks to a pair of offensive rebounds and put-backs by George Jordan (Worcester, Mass.) and Patrick Cuff (Medway, Mass.).
Elms closed the gap and took its first lead with 2:51 to play following a pair of free throws by Buchanon to set the score at 20-19. Three treys from Buchanon helped the Blazers score nine of the final 14 points of the half and post a 29-23 lead at intermission.
The Rams pulled to within four at the 14:53 mark of the second half when Joe McCabe (Canton, Mass.) canned a three-pointer to set the score at 38-34 but that was as close as Framingham State could get as Buchanon struck from beyond the arc with 8:45 left in the game to run Elms' lead to 10 points at 52-42.
From there, the Blazers maintained a double-digit lead and led by as many as 19 (65-46) following a pair of made foul shots by junior forward Kenny Lockett (Atlanta, Ga.) with 2:40 to go in the contest. Elms' freshman guard Qua'Sean Crowe (Stamford, Conn.) scored five of team's final nine points of the contest to reach the final margin.
Lockett finished with 13 points – all of which came in the second half – and pulled down a game-best 10 rebounds, while senior forward Isaiah Odunlami (Providence, R.I.) chipped in eight points and eight boards in the winning effort.
Sophomore guard Derek Murphy (Columbia, Md.) notched nine points off the bench, while Buchanon and senior guard Piere Simpson (East Hartford, Conn.) dished out four assists each. Elms shot 31.8-percent from three-point range led by Buchanon's 5 for 9 effort from long distance.
The Rams were led by Charles Collins (Lynn, Mass.) who scored a team-best 17 points and corralled seven rebounds to tie for the team-high. Jordan contributed 11 points and six boards, while Tim Mangano (Winchester, Mass.) came off the bench and drilled a pair of three-pointers to finish with six points.
Cuff added six points, while Collins dished out a game-high five assists and recorded four steals. Jordan and Jamie Henderson (Cedar Hill, Texas) added four helpers in the Rams final game of the semester.
Release courtesy of Elms Sports Information.