CORTLAND, N.Y. – Sophomore Lamard Herron (Westbury) led Cortland with a career-high 20 points and also shared the team lead with seven rebounds as the Red Dragons defeated Elms College, 85-59, in the opening round of the NCAA Div. III Men's Basketball Tournament.

Cortland, now 24-4, tied a school record for single-season victories originally set in 2005-06 and 1999-2000 (24-5 each season). The Red Dragons will face either Middlebury College (Vt.) or Curry Colllege (Mass.) in the second round on Saturday, March 9.

(UPDATE: 3/4/13 - Cortland will host Middlebury on Saturday, March 9, at 3 p.m.)

Herron made 8-of-10 shots from the field, including 2-of-3 three-pointers, in 27 minutes off the bench. Senior Jesse Winter (Rockville Centre/South Side) finished with 19 points, five assists and three steals and senior Jeremy Smith (Bronx/Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy) scored 15 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out three assists. Junior Kevin McMahon (Hoosick Falls) added 11 points and seven rebounds.

Both Winter and Smith were 3-of-6 from three-point range. Cortland, making its first NCAA appearance since 2006, shot 12-of-27 (44 percent) from the arc and 26-of-52 (50 percent) overall. The Red Dragons also made 21-of-25 free throws (84 percent).

Sophomore Kenneth Lockett (Atlanta, GA/Grayson) and senior Andre French (Torrington, CT) led Elms (18-10) with 16 points each. Lockett made 7-of-11 shots from the floor. French made 3-of-9 three-pointers. Senior David McDaniel (Plainfield, NJ/Rutgers Prep) added 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds. The Blazers were playing in the NCAA tournament for the seventh time.

Cortland trailed only once at 7-5 after two McDaniel free throws with 17:04 left in the first half. The Red Dragons led by as many as 11 points in the first half, but Elms closed to within four with 3:44 left in the half and trailed by only five, 38-33, at halftime.

The hosts quickly pushed their lead to 10 on two McMahon free throws and a Winter three-pointer in the first two minutes of the second half. The Blazers answered with a Piere Simpson (Middletown, CT/East Hartford) layup and a Lockett jumper to cut the margin to six, but Cortland utilized two Harrison Hefele (Greenlawn/Friends Academy) three-pointers and four points by McMahon during a 13-4 run that gave the Red Dragons a 56-41 lead with 13:06 left.

The lead grew to 20 points with 10:41 left and never dipped below that mark the remainder of the game.

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