Endicott 73, Curry 83; Gulls suffer third straight conference loss

MILTON, Mass. – Taking on the top team in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC), the Endicott men's basketball team held a lead with 5:38 remaining in the second half but the Colonels rallied to remain undefeated in conference play with an 83-73 win at the Student Center Gymnasium. 

Endicott dropped to 7-6 (2-4 CCC) with Saturday's loss accounting for their third straight defeat at the hands of a CCC opponent.  The Blue and Green will look to get back in the win column on Tuesday, January 15^th at North Shore rival Gordon.  Tip-off is at 7:30 pm in Wenham, Massachusetts.

With the win, Curry improved to 9-4 (6-0 CCC) behind a team-high 19 points from junior guard Carlos Ribeiro (Charlestown, Mass.) who was 5-of-9 from the floor with four three-pointers and 5-of-6 from the free throw line.  Ribeiro also created five steals defensively.

Endicott was led offensively by senior guard Lance Greene (Dorchester, Mass.) who compiled 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting with eight rebounds and three assists.  Sophomore John Henault (Lunenburg, Mass.) finished off an impressive week with another solid effort on Saturday with 19 points.  Henault averaged 25.3 points per game in the three Endicott losses against Nichols, Wentworth, and Curry.

The Gulls started the game with a 13-0 run that saw sophomore Andre Makris (Southbury, Conn.) connect on two shots from beyond the arc.  Makris would finish with 10 points and five rebounds.  Curry fought back to take the lead with 9:23 remaining in the opening half and went on lead 40-34 at the break.

In the second half, Endicott tied the game at 53-53 on a Henault jumper with 13:29 remaining in the game.  The Blue and Green went ahead 55-53 after a Makris layup with an assist to freshman guard Matt Ellis (Westford, Mass.).  The two teams battled back-and-forth and the Gulls would take a 65-62 advantage after a three-point make by freshman guard Dan Powers (Westwood, Mass) and another lead at 69-66 following a basket by Greene before the Colonels took over the game. 

Curry finished the game on a 17-4 run on their home court as junior guard Lambros Paplambros (Quincy, Mass.) and senior guard Sedale Jones (Pittsfield, Mass.) finished with 18 and 13 points, respectively.

Curry held a 51-38 advantage in the rebounding department, with 19 of them coming on the offensive glass.  Both teams were 8-of-19 from three-point range while the Colonels benefited from 17 makes at the free throw line.