Gulls can't dig out of winter Nor'easter
Box
Score
BIDDEFORD, Maine – A seven point halftime
lead proved to be too large a hole for the Gulls to climb out
of, as the University of New England staved off a furious Endicott
College rally to take an 81-76 The Commonwealth Coast Conference
men's basketball victory Tuesday evening at the Campus Center in
Biddeford, Maine. UNE sophomore forward Quentin Thompson (Austin,
Texas) matched his career-high with 24 points in the win.
Trailing by 17 (76-59) with 5:13 remaining, the Gulls were able to
race back and get as close as three on two separate occasions --
the final time with just :30 seconds remaining.
Thompson was 8-for-12 from the floor, including 3-for-5 from
beyond the arc, to establish his season-high in points. He added
seven rebounds and three assists.
UNE (11-10, 7-3 TCCC) placed three other players in double
figures. Sophomore guards Anthony Johnson (Austin, Texas) and
Marcus Winn (Austin, Texas) each hit three treys to finish with 15
and 13 points, respectively, while freshman forward Anthony Coleman
(Austin, Texas) chipped in a career-high 14 points.
For Endicott (10-11, 5-5), senior guard \#Graham Whitelaw\#
(Kennebunk, Maine) tossed in 17 points, including a 3-for-5 effort
from three-point land. Sophomore center \#Erik Callo\#
(Southington, Conn.) added 11 points.
Leading 43-36 at intermission, the Nor'easters were able to
steadily pull away over the opening 10 minutes of the second frame
to forge a 71-54 advantage.
It appeared as if UNE had the contest in control until the
visiting Gulls got red-hot in the final five minutes. With the
hosts up 17 (76-59) and just over five minutes on the clock,
Endicott made seven consecutive field goal attempts to close within
three (77-74) on a \#Lance Greene\# (Dorchester, Mass.) layup at
the 1:54 mark.
The Nor'easters would hold Endicott to just a pair of free throws
the rest of the way while making 4-of-8 at the line.
The stat sheet was nearly identical as UNE shot 45.2 percent
(26-of-60) from the floor compared to 42.9 percent (26-of-59) by
the Gulls. The Nor'easters held a slight rebounding advantage
(39-36) and each team committed 26 turnovers.
Endicott looks to rebound on Saturday when the Gulls host Salve
Regina University for a 3:00 p.m. tip in Beverly, Mass. Winners of
six of their last seven, the Nor'easters will play host to
Colby-Sawyer College on Saturday at 3:00 p.m., as well. The
Chargers handed Gordon College its first TCCC loss of the season
Tuesday evening with a 74-63 home triumph.
Release courtesy of UNE Sports Information