Gulls Fall in NCAA First Round

Danbury, CT-- In the first round of the NCAA's, the Colonials of Western Connecticut State defeated the Endicott Gulls, 73-62. Despite a game high 22 points from sophomore Nemanja Marinkovic, the Gulls were unable to come away with a win.

The Colonials led by as much as 13 points with 6:37 left in the first half. But the Gulls battled back, coming within four points following a Josh Oxton layup. Gary Corbett closed out the half with a pair of free throws, completing EC's 15-8 run. WCSU went into halftime up by six (40-34).

Oxton and Zach Ellis opened up the EC scoring in the second half with back-to-back three-pointers, pulling the Gulls within two. But that was as close as EC would come, as the Colonials held their lead the remainder of the game.

In addition to his game high 22 points, Marinkovic grabbed 9 rebounds for the Gulls. Oxton chipped in 19 points, dished out 6 assists and tallied two steals. Michael Sullivan pulled down 4 boards, and chipped in 8 points for EC.

Brice Assie was the Colonials' leading scorer with 21. Jeff Gene and Kimani Crawford each tallied 13 points for WCSU. Jason Barnett was the game's leading rebounder with 11.

The Gulls, Commonwealth Coast Conference Champions, finish the season with an overall record of 22-6, 15-1 in the CCC.