FREDERICK, Md.—The Hood College men's basketball team (14-9, 8-8 Commonwealth) defeated Elizabethtown College (7-16, 4-12 Commonwealth) 69-52 in a spirited team effort Saturday afternoon at BB&T Arena. The Blazers avenged an earlier loss this season to the Blue Jays and with four straight wins, Hood is one of the hottest teams in the conference. The victory also put Hood into a tie for the last conference playoff spot with just two games left to play.

Junior guard Cameron Cook was once again the focal point of the Blazer attack. Cook scored 25 points on 8-13 shooting, including 7-11 from three point range. Cook's seven made three's were a season high and the ten made three's by the Blazers was a team high for the season. The junior was en fuego for most of the game and was the catalyst to an 18-2 second half run that saw Hood put Elizabethtown away.

Junior forward Jeremy Veres also had a big game, as he netted a career high of 17 points off of 7-10 shooting from the floor. Elizabethtown had no answer for the junior's strength on the inside, as he used his soft touch and power to get good looks at the basket. Elizabethtown was led by forward Andrew Mantz, who scored 12 points on the afternoon.

For the game Hood shot an even 50 percent from the floor (25-50) and 50 percent from three (10-20), while holding Elizabethtown to just 37 percent shooting. Hood was also a perfect 9-9 from the free throw line to help their cause.

In a game that saw many runs take place, Hood was the beneficiary of the first major run in the first half. The blue and grey went on a 14-0 run over the course of five minutes to take a 21-8 lead. During the run Cook, Justin Bowens, and Matt Galloway all hit from downtown as Elizabethtown was having a lot of trouble closing down the Blazer shooters.

Mantz was able to stop the run for the Blue Jays with a layup inside, however Hood would answer and kept a double-digit lead for most of the half. A Veres layup gave Hood a 12 point advantage before a Phil Wenger layup brought the score to 31-21 at halftime.

It looked like Hood was going to run away with the game to begin the second half with Cook hitting a three and a layup to give Hood its largest lead of the game at 38-24. However, Elizabethtown would mount a comeback and really picked up the intensity on defense. Hood was held scoreless for over six minutes by a stingy Blue Jay defense that took away the shooting lanes Hood had in the first half. Elizabethtown capitalized on the poor shooting with a 12-0 run to bring the game to within two at 38-36.

Hood would not be denied though and the team caught fire after Elizabethtown made their run. Over a four minute span Hood went on an 18-2 run that sent BB&T Arena into a frenzy. Cook hit three trifectas in a minute and six seconds to break the game open at 49-38. A Davon Hill three then gave Hood its largest lead of the game at 56-38 with 7:56 remaining.

Elizabethtown was never able to recover from the three point onslaught with Hood pushing the lead to as many as 24 at one point late in the second half. The Blazers were able to coast the rest of the way to bring themselves to a tie for the last playoff spot in the Commonwealth.

Hood will return to action this Wednesday in their final road test of the season against first place Alvernia University. Alvernia defeated Hood earlier this season 74-64 at BB&T Arena so the Blazers will be looking for some payback. The game will have huge implications on the playoff race and is a vital game for Hood to win. The game is set to start at 8 p.m.