Men's Basketball Takes Down Elms, 84-66, During Senior Day Saturday Afternoon

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's basketball team took down the visiting Elms College (Elms) Blazers, 84-66, during Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play Saturday afternoon inside James A. Calhoun Gymnasium in West Hartford, Conn. With the result, the Blue Jays moved to 17-6 on the season and 11-1 in conference play, while the Blazers moved to 5-18 overall and 5-7 in the GNAC. The matchup also served as Senior Day for the Blue Jays, as USJ honored Kevin Cummings (Portsmouth, N.H.) and team managers Caya D'Elia and Patrick O'Connor prior to tipoff.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Both offenses struggled to find their rhythm in the opening 10 minutes of the contest, as junior forward Friedrich Feldrappe (Berlin, Germany) sunk a layup to tie the game at 10-10 at the 11:17 mark.
• The layup sparked a 7-2 stretch, featuring four points from junior guard Lence Altenor (Everett, Mass.), which saw USJ jump out to a 17-12 edge with 8:03 on the clock.
• Elms responded with a 9-0 run, retaking the lead, 21-17, and forcing the Blue Jays to call a timeout with 5:09 left in the first half.
• The timeout enabled USJ to fight back, utilizing a 8-3 scoring stretch out of the timeout to swing the lead back into USJ's favor, 25-24, with 2:33 on the clock.
• Feldrappe and Cummings went on to drain back-to-back three-pointers before Altenor closed out the half with a transition dunk to send the Blue Jays into the locker room with a 33-26 advantage.
• USJ carried the momentum into the second half, starting on a 7-2 run, capped off by an old-fashioned three-point play by Altenor, to extend the gap to 40-28 at the 18:42 mark.
• Elms fired back with its own 7-2 stretch, but Cummings would knock down another triple to maintain the double-digit lead, 45-35, with 15:11 on the clock.
• The Blazers again fought back to within seven, 51-44, but a 7-0 USJ run, featuring a triple from sophomore wing Jalen Holmes (Cherry Hill, N.J.), increased the edge to 15, 59-44, with 10:01 left to play.
• The two teams went on to trade buckets, until another timely 7-1 USJ run, fueled by a three-pointer from sophomore guard Jackson McEachern (Freeport, N.Y) and four points by freshman forward Adelphe Cisse (Pointe-Noire, Congo), saw the hosts hold a 74-56 lead with 4:21 on the clock.
• The Blazers would not be able to mount a late comeback as USJ secured the victory, 84-66.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 

• Feldrappe finished with a game-high 21 points.
• Altenor, Cisse and Cummigns joined him in double-figures, scoring 18, 11 and 11 points, respectively.
• Altneor grabbed a team-high six rebounds and also dished out a career-best seven assists.
• Feldrappe was a monster defensively, matching his career-high of four blocks.
• USJ outshot Elms 54.4% (31-of-57) to 40.7% (24-of-59).
• Elms won the battle of the glass, outrebounding USJ, 38-25.
• The Blue Jays dominated inside, scoring 40 points inside the paint.
• USJ took advantage of Elms turnovers, scoring 23 points off 18 Blazers miscues.

UP NEXT

The Blue Jays head on the road for the team's penultimate game of the regular season on Tuesday, February 18, traveling to Newton, Mass. to face Lasell University. Tipoff between the Blue Jays and Lasers inside the Athletic Center is set for 7:30 p.m.

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