Endicott outlasts Roger Williams down the stretch in a 78-69 triumph

BEVERLY, Mass. – Looking for their first CCC victory of the 2011-12 season, the Endicott men's basketball team used some clutch three-point shooting down the stretch to beat Roger Williams 78-69 at MacDonald Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. 
 
Endicott (4-2, 1-1 CCC) connected on 8-of-19 (42.1%) three-point attempts including two by sophomore guard Bennett Knowlton (Shrewsbury, Mass.) in the game's final minutes to help the Gulls pull away from the Hawks. 
 
Roger Williams (2-3, 1-1 CCC) had 49 of their 69 points scored by junior forward Mike Igoe (Lexington, Mass.) and senior center Pat Flanagan (Somerville, Mass.) but saw their bench players tally only five points compared to 21 from Endicott's reserves.  Igoe was an efficient 9-of-13 from the floor and 8-of-10 at the charity stripe for a game-high 27 points.  Flanagan totaled a double-double with 22 points and 13 rebounds. 
 
Endicott's leading scorer, junior guard Lance Greene (Dorchester, Mass.), dropped 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor and a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line.  Greene dished out a career-high nine assists while grabbing six rebounds and making two steals. 
 
Gulls freshman guard John Henault (Lunenberg, Mass.) scored 14 points, his fourth double-digit effort of the season, and sophomore guard Lachlan Magee (Melbourne, Australia) netted 12 points thanks in part to 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.  Off the bench, senior captain Aaron Karkow (Uncasville, Conn.) had 14 points, five rebounds, an assist and a steal.  Fellow senior Tanner McEntee (Del Mar, Calif.) stepped up with 10 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals in 25 minutes on the court.
 
In the opening half, the Blue and Green raced out to a six-point advantage at the 15:40 mark after Magee sunk a three-pointer with an assist to freshman Andre Makris (Southbury, Conn.) to make it 11-5 Endicott.  Later in the half, the Gulls continued to carry momentum by building their lead to as large as 14 points at 33-19 with 5:22 to go until halftime. 
 
The Hawks, however, held Endicott scoreless over 3:55 and went on a 10-0 run of their own featuring three-pointers by juniors Mike Engemann (Red Bank, N.J.) and Matt Grossbard (Pearl River, N.Y.).  Roger Williams would eventually trim Endicott's lead down to just three points at 36-33 following free throws by Igoe but a made jumper by Greene off the glass delivered Endicott a 38-33 halftime advantage. 
 
In the second half, Endicott maintained their slim lead until Roger Williams tied the game at 46 after Flanagan scored seven points in-a-row for the Hawks.  The Gulls quickly regained the lead and went up by seven points before Roger Williams once again fought back and earned their first lead with 8:42 to go since the early moments of the first half on an Igoe three-ball. 
 
Endicott responded on their next possession with a three-pointer of their own by Karkow to take back the lead.  The two teams would go on to tie the game three more times. 
 
With the score knotted at 62-62, the Gulls went on a 10-1 run to take control of the game at 72-63 with 1:29 on the clock.  It was during this stretch that Knowlton buried two critical three-point shots and Greene forced a turnover and then found Henault for a fast-break layup. 
 
Endicott reached the line often over the final minute and a half, making 8-of-13 attempts, to help put the game away. 
 
Endicott moves on to face non-conference opponent Clark on Saturday, December 10^th at 1:00 pm at home.  Roger Williams hosts Coast Guard on Thursday, December 8^th at 7:00 pm.