Peter Harding at Franklin & Marshall 11/14/15
64
Elizabethtown ETOWN 3-7
86
Winner Springfield (Mass.) SPR 5-5
Elizabethtown ETOWN
3-7
64
Final
86
Springfield (Mass.) SPR
5-5
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Elizabethtown ETOWN 22 42 64
Springfield (Mass.) SPR 44 42 86

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Springfield trounces Blue Jays, 86-64, in Naismith Classic

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Jake Ross scored a game-high 22 points and host Springfield dominated the paint to hand Elizabethtown its largest defeat of the season, 86-64, in the Hampton Inn West Springfield/Naismith Classic.

Josh Eden and Peter Harding paced the Blue Jays (3-7) with 13 points apiece, but the guests managed to shoot just 38.7 percent (24 of 62) and 52.4 percent from the charity stripe (11 of 21).

Elizabethtown will face UMass Darmouth, which suffered a 77-71 defeat to Connecticut College, in Saturday's consolation game at noon.

Ross scored 22 of his 28 points in the first half as the Pride (5-5) opened a 22-point advantage, 44-22.

Andy McNulty added 17 points and Kevin Durkin 13 points, seven rebounds for Springfield. The Pride outscored E-town 42-22 in the paint.

Eden came within two rebounds of a double-double and freshman forward Justin Sutton made all three of his field goals and both free throw attempts to lead the Jays off the bench with eight points.

Elizabethtown held a 29-19 edge in bench points. Fellow rookies Ethan DuBois had seven and Connor Moffatt five joined Sutton with solid production in reserve roles.

The Blue Jays were down two, 17-15, following Eden's layup with 13:15 remaining in the first half, but the Pride scored 12 unanswered and held E-town without a basket for five minutes to lead 29-15.

Springfield led by as many as 30 in the second half and never by less than 19. The Pride's 86 points were a season-high, but they performed at the defensive end, too.

Led by Durkin's nine boards and six from Ben Diamond, Springfield won the battle of the boards 45-35. They also held Matt Lapkowicz, E-town's second leading scorer at 13.1 points per game, scoreless on five shots.

The Pride move into Saturday's championship game against Connecticut College at 4:30 p.m.
 
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