WPI Holds Off Endicott, 77-67
Dec. 1, 2007
BEVERLY, MA - WPI's Antoine Coleman (Everett, MA) scored a game-high 24 points, including 14 in the second half to lead the Engineers past Endicott College, 77-67, on Saturday afternoon in a non-conference match-up in Beverly, Massachusetts.
The visitors jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead to start the contest as Adam Lirette (Dover, NH) and Antoine Coleman each notched easy lay-ins for the early advantage. Endicott responded and grabbed its first lead of the day as senior Todd Burton (Lynn, MA/St. Mary's/Canterbury) knocked down a jumper, followed by a steal and lay-up by sophomore Bobby Montrond (Brockton, MA/Brockton) to put the Gulls up, 8-6.
With the see-saw battle underway, Endicott and WPI exchanged buckets until midway through the first half. With 10:33 remaining in the opening frame the visitors caught fire from behind the arc as NT Izuchi (Boston, MA/John D. O'Bryant) and Kyle Nadeau (Webster, MA/Bartlett) knocked down consecutive three-pointers to give the Engineers a 23-19 lead. The advantage would grow to six on the following possession as Coleman fought his way to the charity-stripe and sunk consecutive attempts.
Graham Whitelaw (Kennebunk, ME/Cheverus) and the Gulls were once again equal to the task as the Blue and Green went on a 10-3 run, capped off by a pair of Whitelaw triples to return the lead to the Gulls, 29-28. The home team's lead went to three until Ben Etten (Hollis, NH/Hollis-Brookline) dialed in from deep to send both squads into the locker room tied at 35-all.
In the second frame, WPI used a mid-half, 9-2, run that spanned 4:23 to grab control the contest. A successful jumper by Ryan Bourque (Nashua, NH) got the run started, and a hard drive to the rim resulting in two for Jim Marois (Worcester, MA/Doherty) gave the Engineers a 55-50 lead. Kyle Nadeau tacked-on three more points to the advantage as he once again connected on a deep three-ball.
Coleman put the exclamation point on the WPI victory as he took an outlet pass from Jim Marois and slammed home an uncontested two-handed dunk with just over a minute left in regulation, leading the visitors to the 77-67 win.
Coleman led all scorers with 24 points and eight rebounds. The senior forward also chipped in two blocks and two steals in his game-high 30 minutes of action. Jim Marois also reached double-figures for WPI, tossing in 13 points and grabbing five rebounds in the win. WPI held a dominating advantage in second chance points as they outscored Endicott, 19-4, in that category. The Engineers attempted 37 three-pointers (10-of-37); on par with their average of 38.2 attempts per game from behind the arc.
Endicott was led by the consistent play of Graham Whitelaw, who led the squad with 20 points. Bobby Montrond tallied 12 points, two steals and two assists in the losing effort. Todd Burton also had 14 points and three assists for the Gulls.
Endicott looks to end its four game skid as they travel to cross-town rival Gordon College on Tuesday night. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in Wenham, Mass.