Men fall to Elms in NECC Semi-finals
NO. 1 ELMS COLLEGE 94, NO. 4 WHEELOCK 74
Junior guard Juan Galdon (Holyoke, MA) dropped in a game-high 26 points and Elms College used a key run late in the first half en route to a 94-74 win over Wheelock College in Friday night's first semifinal.
Elms College (25-1 overall), the top seed in the NECC Tournament, won its program-record 15th straight game and added to its school-record win total, as it now advances to Saturday's 2:00 p.m. championship to face the winner of Friday night's other semifinal between No. 2 Becker and No. 3 Daniel Webster.
Wheelock, which went 1-24 in its first intercollegiate season a year ago, finished 10-17.
The Blazers led just 36-34 following a layup from Wheelock junior forward Sherard Robbins (Malden, MA), but reeled off a 12-0 run over the final 1:56 of the half, as Galdon drained a pair of 3-pointers and two free throws to send Elms College to the locker room with a 48-34 halftime lead.
The Blazers then used a 10-4 run over the first 2:28 of the second half to build what proved to be an insurmountable 20-point lead at 68-48.
Galdon finished 8 of 15 from the field, including four 3-pointers, and also went a perfect 6 of 6 from the free throw line in 29 minutes.
Senior forward Ronald Thomas (Chicago, IL) finished with 11 points and sophomore guard Dan Gonzalez (East Windsor, CT) added 10 points as the other two Blazers to reach double figures in the victory.
Senior guard Aswad Thomas (Hartford, CT) added six points and game-highs of 11 assists and seven steals for Elms College, which forced 33 turnovers and held a decisive 38-15 advantage in points off turnovers.
Robbins led the Wildcats with a team-high 23 points on 10 of 13 shooting in 36 minutes, freshman guard Kyle Pierce (Burlington, MA) added 15 points and a team-high six assists. Sophomore guard Dan Main (Hopedale, MA) and freshman guard Victor Kashouh (Providence, RI) added 12 points apiece to also score in double figures.
