PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Elms College guard Andre French (Torrington, Conn.) and sophomore guard Derek Murphy (Columbia, Md.) each scored 16 points but Johnson & Wales University received a game-high 31-point effort from Esaie Touze (Providence, R.I.) to help the second-seeded Wildcats best the seventh-seeded Blazers, 87-67 in quarterfinal action of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England Championship on Wednesday evening in Providence, R.I.
With the loss, Elms concludes its season 15-13 overall, while Johnson & Wales improves to 21-7 on the season and advances to the semifinals of the ECAC tournament.
After Elms posted a 39-36 lead at halftime that was sparked by an 8-0 run to start the contest and featured 10 points from French and nine from Murphy, the sides battled to a 57-57 deadlock at the 10:37 mark following Quarry Greenaway (Westchester, N.Y.) layup and free throw.
The Wildcats then used an 11-0 run over the next three minutes to stake a 68-57 lead before French delivered a layup to halt the run. Johnson & Wales got back on track seconds later when Curtis Lucas (Providence, R.I.) canned a trey as the Wildcats scored 11 of the next 15 points on the strength of seven points from Lucas to set the score at 79-63 with 4:15 to play in the game.
From there, Johnson & Wales pulled away scoring eight of the final 12 points of the game to seal its 87-67 victory.
Elms' senior forward Isaiah Odunlami (Providence, R.I.) and junior forward Kenny Lockett (Atlanta, Ga.) each scored 11 points, while freshman forward Conny Ihearahu (Largo, Md.) pulled down a team-high seven rebounds and chipped in six points in the losing effort.
Senior guard Dustin Trail (East Hartford, Conn.) added five boards off the bench, while French added five assists and five steals. The Blazers shot 37.9-percent from the field and 73.3-percent from the free throw line in the loss.
The Wildcats shot 47.1-percent from the field and 83.3-percent from the charity stripe. Johnson &Wales also held a decisive advantage in rebounds, 48-33.