CORTLAND, N.Y. – Sophomore Lamard Herron (Westbury) led Cortland with a career-high 20 points and also shared the team lead with seven rebounds as the Red Dragons defeated Elms College, 85-59, in the opening round of the NCAA Div. III Men's Basketball Tournament.

Cortland, now 24-4, tied a school record for single-season victories originally set in 2005-06 and 1999-2000 (24-5 each season). The Red Dragons will face either Middlebury College (Vt.) or Curry Colllege (Mass.) in the second round on Saturday, March 9. The site and time of that game will be determined on Monday.

Herron made 8-of-10 shots from the field, including 2-of-3 three-pointers, in 27 minutes off the bench. Senior Jesse Winter (Rockville Centre/South Side) finished with 19 points, five assists and three steals and senior Jeremy Smith (Bronx/Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy) scored 15 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out three assists. Junior Kevin McMahon (Hoosick Falls) added 11 points and seven rebounds.

Both Winter and Smith were 3-of-6 from three-point range. Cortland, making its first NCAA appearance since 2006, shot 12-of-27 (44 percent) from the arc and 26-of-52 (50 percent) overall. The Red Dragons also made 21-of-25 free throws (84 percent).

Sophomore Kenneth Lockett (Atlanta, GA/Grayson) and senior Andre French (Torrington, CT) led Elms (18-10) with 16 points each. Lockett made 7-of-11 shots from the floor. French made 3-of-9 three-pointers. Senior David McDaniel (Plainfield, NJ/Rutgers Prep) added 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds. The Blazers were playing in the NCAA tournament for the seventh time.

Cortland trailed only once at 7-5 after two McDaniel free throws with 17:04 left in the first half. The Red Dragons led by as many as 11 points in the first half, but Elms closed to within four with 3:44 left in the half and trailed by only five, 38-33, at halftime.

The hosts quickly pushed their lead to 10 on two McMahon free throws and a Winter three-pointer in the first two minutes of the second half. The Blazers answered with a Piere Simpson (Middletown, CT/East Hartford) layup and a Lockett jumper to cut the margin to six, but Cortland utilized two Harrison Hefele (Greenlawn/Friends Academy) three-pointers and four points by McMahon during a 13-4 run that gave the Red Dragons a 56-41 lead with 13:06 left.

The lead grew to 20 points with 10:41 left and never dipped below that mark the remainder of the game.