CHICOPEE, Mass. - An afternoon in which neither side led by more than eight at any time, Emmanuel Saints men's basketball held off the Elms Blazers on Saturday afternoon in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play, earning a 76-71 win at Picknelly Arena. The Saints move to 10-11 (4-4 GNAC) in the win, while the Blazers fall to 9-12 (3-5 GNAC) in defeat. 

The game came down to the final 6:06 as Saturday's conference contest was tied at 63-63 in the second half. The Saints edged out ahead with back-to-back layups by juniors Mahari Guerrier and Cameron Snowden, giving the visitors a 67-63 edge with 4:28 to go. That slim Saints margin would hold over the final minutes, as the Blazers never managed to overtake the Emmanuel lead.

Emmanuel and Elms traded points, first from the foul line, then on made field goals, as that narrow Emmanuel lead continued to hold. The breathing room finally came in the form of a missed game-tying three by the Blazers, which ultimately put the Saints at the foul line.

Junior Noah Beaudet knocked down a pair with 16 seconds remaining, while one possession later, first-year Manny Duran added a pair of makes from the line, putting the game out of reach in the final seconds. The Blazers made a late-second layup but the foul shooting down the stretch landed the Saints a 76-71 win.

Beaude finished with a game-high 23 points on 9-for-18 shooting. Guerrier and Snowden each had 14 points for the Saints, while Guerrier added 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season. 

For Elms, Edgardo Jacob Cancel had a team-high 17 points in 23 minutes off the bench. Andrew Ciaglo and RJ Mayfield added 15 and 14 points, respectively.

The Saints look for their third straight win as they return to play on Wednesday, Feb. 11, for a road GNAC tip-off against Dean at 7:00 p.m.