Golden Bears swipe conference win, down Endicott
Jan. 17, 2009
BEVERLY, Mass. - Endicott College shot just 28.6% from the field (20-of-70) and 46.7% from the line (5-of-12) as the Gulls suffered a 65-51 conference loss to Western New England College on Saturday afternoon in Beverly, Mass. WNEC improves its record to 4-9 overall and 2-1 in The Commonwealth Coast Conference while the Gulls slide to 6-8 and 2-1 in TCCC play.
Western New England opened up a 13-5 run to start the contest, capped off by a Kyle Fredette (Wallingford, Vt.) three-pointer to give the visitors an eight point lead just six minutes into the first. WNEC would push its advantage to as many as 10 points in the opening half after Conor Lomas (Wilbraham, Mass.) converted a tough inside look off a feed from Paul Kennedy (Longmeadow, Mass.) for a two point lay-in.
Endicott, however, would charge back before the intermission. Freshman center Erik Callo (Southington, Conn.) scored three-consecutive buckets, all down low on the post, to help Endicott enter the break down by just two, 26-24.
Justin Martin (Cromwell, Conn.) got the home team off to a solid start in the second stanza as he converted a lay-up high off the glass just 13 seconds into the half. Martin then knocked down a jumper just two minutes later to give Endicott its first lead since the 18:31 mark of the first half.
The two sides traded buckets throughout the first 10 minutes of the second, as the teams were gridlocked at 38-38 with 10:56 left in regulation. Western New England then found a second gear as the Golden Bears rattled off an 8-0 run that included a three-ball from junior Brendan Murphy (West Springfield, Conn.).
Not to be outdone, the Gulls fired back with a 10-1 run of their own that included a pair of free-throws and a three-pointer from Mike Rhodes (Amston, Conn.) and a step-back jumper by Aaron Karkow (Uncasville, Conn.). The run gave Endicott a 48-47 lead with just 4:41 left to play.
As they did all afternoon, the Golden Bears stepped up to the challenge and immediately took the lead back on a three-point play from Rick Johnson (Springfield, Mass.). The Gulls' Ross Stewart (Palm Harbor, Fla.) re-tied the game at 50-all as he dropped in a fast-break score after a missed Brad Thomka (Springfield, Mass.) jumper.
Just 23 seconds later Matt Maynard (Paterson, N.J.) gave Western New England the lead for good, as he dialed in from behind the arc to put the Golden Bears ahead, 53-50. The visitors capitalized on all their late chances down the stretch, closing out the game on a 15-1 run that included six points from Thomka.
WNEC was paced by Thomka's 14 points in 20 minutes. Kyle Fredette had 11 points, seven rebounds and four blocks while junior forward Michael Booker (Springfield, Mass.) notched a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Endicott failed to have a single player reach double-figures. Graham Whitelaw (Kennebunk, Maine) was held in check as he shot 3-of-15, scoring nine points to go along with seven rebounds in the loss. Erik Callo also had nine points and added five boards, while Justin Martin and Mike Rhodes each had eight points for the Blue and Green.
Neither team shot the ball particularly well on Saturday, as the Gulls were 28.6% from the field (20-of-70) while their counterparts mustered 38.9% (21-of-54). Endicott took an amazing 26 three-pointers, only converting on four of its attempts (15.4%). The Gulls were out-rebounded 52-41.
Up next for Western New England is a road contest at Wentworth on Wednesday evening in Boston, Mass. The Gulls hope to end their two-game skid at Anna Maria on the same evening at 8:00 p.m.