Men's Basketball Preview: Springfield College

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College men's basketball will travel to Springfield College for a non-conference matchup against the Pride Thursday night at Blake PE Complex. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

The Blazers enter the matchup with a 1-2 overall record after falling to Keene State, 70-68, on a last-second put back bucket. Elms opened the season with a 77-57 defeat at the hands of Bowdoin College, but rallied to defeat Manhattanville College, 63-53, the following day. The Blazers are generating 62.7 points per game while shooting 39.9% from the field and 33.3% from three-point range. Defensively, Elms is surrendering 66.7 points per game, and opponents are connecting on 44.7% of their field goal attempts.

Senior forward Kenny Lockett (Atlanta, Ga.) leads the Blazers offensively with a team-high 14.0 points per game, shooting 48.3% from the floor and 92.3% from the foul line, with six rebounds. Junior guard Jerry Buchanon (Windsor, Conn.) is averaging a team-high 33.7 minutes per game, contributing 13.3 points, 3.3 assists and 2.9 rebounds. Junior forward Kadar Lynch (Springfield, Mass.) is adding eight points and six rebounds per game, while sophomore guard Conny Ihearahu (Largo, Md.) is chipping in seven points and nearly three rebounds. Junior guards Tim Putnam (Windsor Locks, Conn.) and Piere Simpson (East Hartford, Conn.) are contributing 6.7 and 5.7 points, respectively.

Springfield College owns a 3-0 record on the season, registering victories over SUNY-Cobleskill (59-41), Vassar (82-44), and Western New England (90-77). The Pride will open their home schedule against the Blazers. Springfield is producing 77 points per game, connecting on 44.9% of their field goals, including a 31.2% from three-point range. The Pride is limiting opponents to 54 points and a 33.6 field goal percentage.

Springfield freshman forward Brandon Eckles (East Greenwich R.I.) is netting a team-high 14.5 points, shooting 63.2% from the floor, with eight rebounds. Senior guard Josh Altman (Rockport, Mass.) is scoring 13 points with 2.3 assists, while senior guard Sean Martin (Rindge, N.H.) is dishing out nearly four assists with 10.7 points a game. Senior guard Nick Sienkiewicz (Cranston, R.I.) serves as the Pride's deep threat, connecting on 61.3% of his three-point attempts en route to a 10 point-per-game average. Graduate forward Tim Swenson (Millbury, Mass.) is grabbing a team-high 8.3 rebounds with 9.7 points.

Over the history of the matchup, the two squads are tied at 2-2 in their four career matchups. Elms claimed victories in 2008 (73-63) and 2011 (69-59), while the Pride won in 2010 (82-67), and 2013 (106-71).

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