CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Elms College senior forward Juan Alverio (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico) netted 17 points and hauled in a game-high and collegiate-career best 20 boards to help lift the Blazers to a 76-59 victory over Wheelock College in Thursday evening's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's basketball game at Brunelli Court.
With the win, Elms improves to 12-5 overall, 5-1 in league play, while Wheelock slips to 7-10 on the season, 3-4 in NECC action.
Holding a 35-29 lead at the start of the second half, Elms scored 10 of the first 12 points that was capped by a jumper from sophomore guard Brittain Purcelle (Tarrytown, N.Y.) to give the Blazers a 45-31 lead with 17:32 to play in the game.
Wheelock's Daniel Main (Hopedale, Mass.) swished a pair of free throws but a bucket by Alverio and two from Purcelle extended Elms' lead to 18 (51-33) with 14:39 remaining in the contest. Elliot Hernandez (Fort Lauderdale, Mass.) answered with a three-pointer and Bashir Hudson (Jamaica, Plain, Mass.) added a layup to pull the Wildcats to within 13 (51-38) at the 12:19 mark, but a 8-2 run by the Blazers pushed the cushion to 19 points when senior forward Edgar Martinez (Springfield, Mass.) converted a layup to set the score at 59-40 with 8:45 on the clock.
Trailing 65-48 with 3:51 to play, Hudson hit a jumper in the lane and Kyle Pierce (Burlington, Mass.) sank a trey at the 3:11 mark to cut the deficit to 12 but Wheelock got no closer as the Blazers increased the advantage back to 18 and maintained at least a 15-point lead for the remainder of the contest.
Elms scored 28 points off turnovers as four players finished in double figures for the Blazers. Senior guard Cecil Avant (Southwest Ranches, Fla.) poured in a game-high 19 points, while Alverio and Purcelle finished with 17 points each. Martinez added 14 points to highlight four of Elms' five starters to record double-digit outputs.
Alverio grabbed 11 of his 20 boards on the offensive side of the glass in addition to dealing out three assists, recording three steals and notching six blocks in the winning effort.
Maine paced Wheelock's offense with a team-best 13 points, while Max Kaim (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and Pierce added 10 points each.
Eric Rice (Woburn, Mass.) was the squad's leading rebounder registering nine boards and contributed eight points in the losing effort.
Elms shot just 38.9-percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes but hit on 18 of 36 (50-percent) in the second stanza to finish the game 44.4-percent from the field.
Elms returns to NECC action when it travels to Lesley University for a 12:00 p.m. contest on Saturday, Jan. 29.