The Blazers, who won their fourth straight game to improve to 6-3 overall, advanced to Saturday afternoon’s 4:00 p.m. championship game to meet the Indiana-South Bend/Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University winner.
Junior point guard John Ancrum (Harlem, NY) recorded 15 points and a team-high four assists, sophomore forward Renato Lindmets (Springfield, MA) had 14 points and junior guard David Williams (Hartford, CT) added 13 points to all reach double figures for Elms College in the victory.
The Blazers pulled away behind a 14-1 run midway through the second half keyed by consecutive layups by Williams and Holder, a pair of 3-pointers by Ancrum, and a dunk and layup by Lindmets.
The first half featured a total of 10 ties and 11 lead changes with neither team leading by more than four points.
Lindmets dropped in 10 of his points in the opening half and junior guard Justin Davis (Dix Hills, NY) added nine first half points – all on 3-pointers for the Blazers, who trailed 41-40 at intermission.
Elms College opened the second half with a 20-12 run in the first 4:46 of the second half to take the lead for good.
Junior forward Brian Hagel (Bonduel, WI) netted a team-high 17 points, while junior guard Micah Biesterfeld (Crete, IL) and senior guard Stefan Spath (Houston, TX) added 11 points apiece for Wisconsin-Lutheran in the loss.
Newspaper Box Score Elms College vs Wisconsin-Lutheran College 01/06/06 6:00 p.m. at Daytona Beach, FL At Daytona Beach, FL ELMS COLLEGE 93, WISCONSIN-LUTHERAN COLLEGE 80 ELMS COLLEGE (6-3) Antoine Holder 8-14 1-2 18; John Ancrum 4-7 4-6 15; Renato Lindmets 5-8 4-6 14; David Williams 5-10 2-4 13; Lonnie Branyon III 3-7 3-4 9; Justin Davis 3-7 0-0 9; Randy Hite 2-9 3-5 7; Nathan Hawes 3-4 0-0 6; Anthony Bernard 0-2 2-2 2. Totals 33-68 19-29 93. WISCONSIN-LUTHERAN COLLEGE (3-10) Hagel, Brian 5-14 7-7 17; Spath, Stefan 4-7 3-5 11; Biesterfeld, Micah 3-5 2-2 11; Miller, BJ 2-7 4-6 10; Jiles, Lewis 4-8 0-0 9; Behm, Danny 4-9 0-0 8; Zondag, Marcus 2-6 1-2 6; Sorum, Nate 2-3 0-1 4; Krygiel, Pat 1-2 1-2 3; Dunlop, Drew 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 27-62 19-27 80. Elms College.................. 40 53 - 93 Wisconsin-Lutheran College.... 41 39 - 80 3-point goals-Elms College 8-18 (John Ancrum 3-4; Justin Davis 3-7; David Williams 1-3; Antoine Holder 1-3; Randy Hite 0-1), Wisconsin-Lutheran College 7-24 (Biesterfeld, Micah 3-5; Miller, BJ 2-7; Jiles, Lewis 1-2; Zondag, Marcus 1-2; Dunlop, Drew 0-1; Behm, Danny 0-3; Hagel, Brian 0-4). Fouled out--Elms College-None, Wisconsin-Lutheran College-None. Rebounds-Elms College 44 (Antoine Holder 8), Wisconsin-Lutheran College 37 (Hagel, Brian 7). Assists-Elms College 16 (John Ancrum 4; David Williams 4), Wisconsin-Lutheran College 14 (Biesterfeld, Micah 6). Total fouls-Elms College 19, Wisconsin-Lutheran College 23. A-741 Elms College advances to Saturday afternoon's Carrabba's Shootout Championship to meet the winner of Indiana-South Bend/Embry-Riddle.