NASHUA, N.H. – Elms College junior guard Daniel Gonzalez (East Windsor, Conn.) netted a game-high 19 points off the bench to pace the Blazers to an 87-69 victory over Daniel Webster College in Thursday evening's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's basketball contest in Nashua, N.H.
With the win, Elms improves to 16-7 on the season, 9-3 in league play, while Daniel Webster slips to 10-12 overall, 4-8 in NECC action.
Trailing 9-3 at the 16:13 mark of the first half, Elms' senior forward Edgar Martinez (Springfield, Mass.) delivered a layup and senior guard Arsenio Avant (Southwest Ranches, Fla.) swished a trey to pull the Blazers to within one at 9-8 with 15:02 to play in the opening half.
Senior guard Cecil Avant (Southwest Ranches, Fla.) connected on a pair of free throws to give Elms the lead at the 14:05 mark and the Blazers never trailed again.
Elms shot a stellar 41.9-percent from the field in the first half behind an 11-point effort from senior forward Juan Alverio (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico) who hit on 4 of 6 from the floor in the first 20 minutes.
The Blazers maintained a double-digit lead from the 5:26 mark on and a trey by Alverio with 4:22 to play in the half gave Elms its largest lead of period (18), 39-21.
Daniel Webster scored nine of the final 12 points capped by a three-pointer from Chris Voukides (Salem, N.H.) to post a 42-30 cushion at halftime.
The Eagles came out firing in the second half, striking for three three-pointers in their first four possessions as John Hickson (Springfield, Mass.) nailed two, and Voukides added the other to pull Daniel Webster to within seven at 46-39 with 17:51 to play in the game.
Elms responded with a 17-3 run that featured a pair of treys by Gonzalez over the next 5:15 to extend the Blazers' lead to 21 points.
An Eric Suarez (Brooklyn, N.Y.) layup at the 10:36 mark temporarily cut the lead to 19 (69-50) before Elms used a 10-2 run to stake its largest lead of the contest (27 points) with 7:18 to play. Blazers' freshman guard Kurt Steiner (Rutland, Mass.) sank two three-pointers during the stretch to give Elms a 79-52 lead.
A pair of free throws by the Eagles' David Kulowitch (San Diego, Calif.) at the 2:08 mark closed the gap to 15 but could get no closer as Elms posted an 87-69 win.
Sophomore guard Brittain Purcelle (Tarrytown, N.Y.) went 5 of 8 from the field and 4 of 5 at the strip to record 14 points, while Alverio finished with 13 to give the Blazers three players in double figures. Gonzalez netted 15 of his 19 points from beyond the arc (5 of 8) and added four steals in the win.
Martinez added a game-high eight rebounds, while Cecil Avant dished out a team-high four assists.
Daniel Webster was led by 15-point outputs from Voukides and Hickson, while Suarez and Aiden Collins (Paterson, N.J.) added 13 and 10 points respectively.
Hickson also hauled in a team-best seven rebounds, while Chris Hanson (Salem, Mass.) dished out a team-best four assists in the losing effort.
Elms returns to NECC action on Tuesday, Feb. 15 when it hosts Southern Vermont College at 8:00 p.m. at Picknelly Arena.