Leopards edge Gulls, 70-61
Jan. 25, 2009
BOSTON, Mass. - The Endicott College men's basketball team suffered their third consecutive The Commonwealth Coast Conference loss as the Gull dropped a 70-61 contest to Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, Mass. on Saturday afternoon. The Gulls drop to 6-10 (2-3 TCCC) while the Leopards improve to 6-11 overall and 3-2 in the TCCC. Aaron Karkow (Uncasville, Conn.) led the Gulls with 24 points and five rebounds.
The visiting Gulls would lead by as much as three on three separate occasions in the first half, including 12-9 with 11:51 left on a three pointer from junior guard Kevin McGuire (New City, N.Y.). However, an 8-0 run by the Leopards over the next 3:02 would give Wentworth a 17-12 lead, capped off by a layup from junior forward Shane West (Saco, Maine) with 8:49 to play. The Leopards would extend their lead to as much as six points, including when Doyle hit a layup with 2:42 left to pull ahead 31-25, but Endicott outscored the hosts 6-1 over a span of 1:52 and trailed, 32-31 at the break.
Wentworth went on a 13-3 run over the opening 4:47 of the second half to extend the lead to 11 (45-34). During the run Doyle had seven points while West had four. The Gulls would cut the lead to five (49-44) with 10:09 to play on the strength of six consecutive points from freshman forward Aaron Karkow. The Leopards quickly responded by scoring the next seven points and took a 56-44 lead on a Doyle three with 8:32 left.
A pair of free throws from sophomore guard Mike Rhodes (Amston, Conn.) and a basket by junior guard Bobby Montrond (Brockton, Mass.) trimmed the lead to eight with 5:17 left. However, a three from freshman guard Brendan Monteiro (Brockton, Mass.) and a basket by Abbott brought the lead back to double digits and the Leopards would lead by as much as 15 with 1:05 remaining. Seven straight points by the visitors cut the lead to 69-61 with 14 ticks remaining, but one of two free throws from Monteiro closed out the scoring.
Karkow led all scorers with 24 points, as he shot 8-for-14 from the floor and connected on 4-of-6 shots from behind the arc. After shooting 42.9 percent from the floor in the first half, the Gulls were held to 30.3 percent in the second half. Wentworth won the rebounding battle, 47-36.
Senior guard Todd Doyle (Mystic, Conn.) scored 14 of his team-high 23 points in the second half and junior forward Matt Abbott scored 11 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, had four assists, and blocked three shots for Wentworth. Doyle was 7-for-15 from the floor and 8-for-9 from the free throw line, while also grabbing five rebounds. Eight of Abbott's 11 points came in the first half, while he had seven rebounds in each stanza.
The Blue and Green look to end their four game skid as they host Wheelock College at 7:00 p.m. in Beverly, Mass. Wentworth will host Salve Regina in TCCC action on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.