Worcester, MA --- Elms College sophomore guard Brittain Purcelle (Tarrytown, N.Y.) drained a game-high 31 points but Buffalo State College used a 7-2 run in the second overtime period to close out a thrilling 98-92 victory over the Blazers in round one action of the Coaches Vs. Cancer men's basketball tournament hosted by Worcester State University.
With the loss, Elms falls to 4-3 overall while Buffalo State improves to 5-2 on the season. Elms will meet host Worcester State in the consolation game on Sunday at 12:00 p.m. while Buffalo State will take on Colby-Sawyer College in the championship contest at 2:00 p.m.
After playing to an 87-87 tie at the end of the first overtime period that saw both teams score 10 points, Buffalo State scored 11 of the 16 points in the second extra frame to seal its six-point victory.
Trailing 93-90 with 1:06 to playing the period, Elms' senior guard Arsenio Avant (Southwest Ranches, FL) nailed a mid-range jumper to pull the Blazers to within one at 93-92. T.O. Jackson (Bronx, NY) responded for Buffalo State with a jumper 15 seconds later and a free throw by Anthony Hamer (Brooklyn, NY) gave the Bengals a 96-92 lead at the 18 second mark. Elms' senior forward Juan Alverio (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico) had a chance to cut the lead to one with a three-pointer but Jake Simmons (Rochester, NY) gathered the rebound and hit two free throws after being fouled to seal the game for Buffalo State.
Chris Cartwright (Binghampton, NY) led four Buffalo State scorers in double figures with 20 points while Justin Mitchell (Buffalo, NY) added 16 points and team-best nine rebounds. Simmons finished with 18 points for the Bengals while Jackson dropped in 15 in the winning effort.
After playing to a 77-77 tie at the end of regulation, Alverio converted a layup at the 3:55 mark that established a lead that Elms did not relinquish throughout the overtime period. Purcelle's fifth made free throw of the first extra stanza gave the Blazers a five-point 86-81 cushion with 27 seconds to play but two free throws by Cartwright, a layup by Simmons and a Hamer buzzer-beater capped a 6-1 run to close out the period and force a second overtime.
First half action saw neither team build more than an eight-point edge as Elms took a 44-39 lead into the break behind 13-point efforts from both Purcelle and junior guard Bryant Corcoran (Wolcott, CT) and a 10-point output from junior guard Daniel Gonzalez (East Windsor, CT).
Four minutes and forty-six seconds into the second period, Purcelle forced a Buffalo State turnover and hit a jumper to give Elms' its largest lead of the evening at nine points (52-43). A basket underneath by sophomore forward Darius Griffin (Winter Haven, FL) at the 12:51 mark set the lead at eight (57-49) before Buffalo State scored seven of the next 10 points capped by a trey from Cartwright to pull the Bengals to within one at 60-59 with 9:45 remaining in regulation..
Trailing 62-61 with at the 8:26 mark, Hamer converted a layup to give Buffalo State its first lead of the half and after trading several baskets and a pair of lead changes, Cartwright delivered a layup that broke a 70-70 (4:06 to play), Mitchell hit the front end of two free throws (3:35 left) and Jackson scored in the paint at the 2:41 mark to give the Bengals a 75-70 lead.
With 2:23 remaining, Gonzalez hit the second of two foul shots to bring Elms to within four (75-71) and Corcoran cut that deficit in half with a bucket underneath to set the score at 75-73 with 1:45 on the clock.
A layup by Jackson pushed the Buffalo State back to four at 77-73 before Purcelle answered on the Blazers' ensuing possession to make the deficit two again at 77-75 with 54 ticks remaining.
With 17 seconds to play, Corcoran swiped the ball from Simmons and raced down court and converted a fast-break layup to knot the score at 77-77. Buffalo State played for the final shot but its three-point attempt failed and forced overtime.
Corcoran netted 20 points, while Gonzalez totaled 19 in the losing effort for Elms. Alverio was a force on the defensive end hauling in 18 rebounds and blocking seven shots.
Purcelle was 13 of 15 from the free throw line while Gonzalez was 8 of 10 from the stripe to highlight a 31 for 39 team effort from the line.
Release Courtesy of Elms College Sports Information