Gulls Fall in ECAC Semifinals
March 2, 2007
SPRINGFIELD, MA - The Endicott College men's basketball team saw their 2006-2007 season come to a close Friday night, as the Gulls fell to Western New England College, 74-57 in the semifinals of the ECAC New England Championship Tournament in Springfield, MA.
The Gulls got off to a strong start as Nemanja Marinkovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Second Babtist, Houston, TX) knocked down a pull-up jumper to give Endicott an early 18-12 lead. The Golden Bears responded with a game-changing 21-5 run that lasted over eight minutes, pushing Western New England a 35-28 halftime advantage.
Following the intermission, the Gulls were able to chip away at the Golden Bears' lead, pulling within four after consecutive successful free-throws from Joey Burogs (Lawrence, MA/Lawrence). However, the Gulls couldn't get any closer than that, as Western New England's depth allowed them to pull away down the stretch. The home team would lead by as many as 23 points in the second frame, eventually cruising to the 74-57 win.
Western New England College was led by a 21 point performance from Jim Bayne (Bristol, CT). The Golden Bears' Deon Thomas (Albany, NY) added a double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds in the win. The backcourt for WNEC also had a strong game, as Ryan Hernandez (Hampton Bays, NY) dropped in 10 points, while classmate Matt Maynard (Paterson, NJ) chipped-in nine points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Endicott's Graham Whitelaw (Kennebunk, ME/Cheverus) was the only player to reach double figures for the Gulls, as the freshman guard scored a team-high 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting. Senior center Tom Connor (Kittery, ME/Traip Academy) came off the bench and made all four of his shots, as he finished the night with nine points and seven rebounds. CCC First Team selection Nemanja Marinkovic came one bucket shy of a double-double, as he scored eight points and hauled in 10 rebounds in the loss.
With the win, Western New England College will host the winner of the sixth-seeded Curry College vs. second-seeded St. Joseph's semifinal game that takes place tomorrow (Saturday). The ECAC Finals will be played at 3:00 PM on the campus of WNEC.
Endicott finishes the season with a 16-12 overall record. The Gulls send off three essential parts of their team in seniors Mike Sullivan (Marshfield, MA/Marshfield), Tom Connor and Nemanja Marinkovic. This years graduating class posted an overall conference record of 54-10 over the last four seasons.