Fighting Scots Push Past Endicott, 73-69
Jan. 23, 2007
WENHAM, MA - The Endicott College men's basketball dropped a heart breaking, 73-69 decision to Gordon College Tuesday night in Wenham, MA. The Gulls led by five points late in the 2nd half, but were unable to hold on for the all-important CCC road victory.
The Fighting Scots got off to a quick start, fervently gaining an 8-2 advantage. The Gulls were plagued in the early goings, as the blue and green misfired on several lay-up opportunities. After the early Gordon run, the Gulls began to find their legs. Graham Whitelaw (Kennebunk, ME/Cheverus) and Nemanja Marinkovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Second Baptist, Houston, TX) hit consecutive baskets, and following a Gary Corbett (Danbury, CT/Danbury) lay-in, the visitors pulled within two at 14-12.
The back and forth play would continue as Justin Kaufman (Redding, CT/Christian Heritage) sliced through the Endicott defense and converted on a tough lay-in, keeping Gordon on top at 19-17. The Gulls found a way to respond as Endicott's Ross Stewart (Palm Harbor, FL/East lake) would pull the Gulls within one as he knocked down back-to-back three-balls, first in the near corner and also a straight away shot, pulling EC within one at 24-23.
Endicott would even the score as Marinkovic cut his way through the Scots defense and found the rim for a quick two, tying the game at 25-all. Following an Endicott steal, a fast-breaking Stewart hit a pull-up jump shot right inside the three-point arc, giving Endicott their first lead of the game at 27-25. Gary Corbett would add the to Endicott lead as he connected from the corner for three, putting EC up five. After two Gordon free-throws, Michael Herr (Lampeter, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) hit a three-pointer to send the home team into the locker room with a tie score of 30-all.
Mike Sullivan (Marshfield, MA/Marshfield) got the Gulls going in the second half as he knocked down a 12-footer on Endicott's first possession. Gordon's Jerry Logan (Marietta, GA/The Walker School) and Michael Herr answered right back for the Fighting Scots as they connected on back-to-back three's, putting GC up 36-32. The Gulls evened the score as Whitelaw hit a three and Sullivan picked up the hoop and the foul, evening the game at 38-all. The back-and-forth play was a staple of the second half, as each team exchanged buckets over the course of the next several minutes.
Gordon got streaky as they continued connecting from deep. Jon Marstaller (Naples, ME/Lake Region) cashed in from behind the arc, putting Gordon up five at 47-42. The Fighting Scots would build the lead to six as Jerry Logan once again hit a three, putting Gordon up 54-48. Endicott responded with a three of their own as Brandon Diaz drove baseline and found Gary Corbett straight away for the three, pulling Endicott within three. Moments later, the Gulls would take the lead as Todd Burton (Lynn, MA/St. Mary's/Canterbury School) found Marinkovic on a two-on-one for the easy lay-in, putting Endicott up 58-56.
The Gulls would extend their lead to five as Joey Burgos (Lawrence, MA/Lawrence) converted on a tough inside lay-in. Justin Kaufman answered back for GC, as the junior point guard got to the rim and picked up the foul, pulling the Fighting Scots within two. Jon Marstaller put the home team up 68-67 as the junior forward connected on a deep three ball, registering the 1,000 point of his collegiate career.
With 29.7 seconds remaining in regulation, Nemanja Marinkovic converted on both his free-throw attempts to narrow the GC lead to 71-69. After two missed Gordon College free-throws, the Gulls grabbed the loose rebound and ran the length of the floor. Endicott got a decent inside look yet failed to convert on the game-tying attempt. The Fighting Scots Michael Herr was able to ice the game from the line, as he knocked down consecutive free-throws, pushing Gordon to the 73-69 win.
Gordon was led by a pair of 20-plus scorers in Jon Marstaller and Jerry Logan. Marstaller had 20 points and three steals while Logan dropped in a game-high 21 and dished out 10 assists for a double-double. Endicott was paced by Joey Burgos' 16 points.
With the win, Gordon improves to 12-4 overall and 7-2 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference. Endicott falls to 5-8 overall and 3-2 in the CCC. Next up for the Gulls is a 6:00 PM contest with CCC foe Wentworth in Beverly, MA on Thursday evening.