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