Nichols Tops Men’s Basketball, 83-63

BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott men's basketball team fell to Nichols College, 83-63, on Wednesday night in front of a raucous crowd at MacDonald Gymnasium. 

Keith Brown (Pelham, N.H.) paced the Gulls in the loss with 16 points, three rebounds, and two assists. Joel Villa (Bronx, N.Y.) added 11 points and seven rebounds, while Rob O'Brien (Rindge, N.H.) had 10 points and hauled in eight boards. 

Nick Thibeault (Gorham, Maine) rounded out the list of individual highlights for Endicott with seven points and eight rebounds (four offensive). 

Trailing 49-37 with 14:26 to play in the second half, the Gulls responded with a 13-8 run (57-50) – fueled by five points from Villa – but Nichols countered with a 13-5 run of its own (70-55) and never saw its lead drop below 13 points for the remainder of the contest. The win improved the Bison to 9-2 on the road this season. 

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Mathew Catizone (Woburn, Mass.) chipped in with eight points, two rebounds, and a pair of assists.
• Despite the loss, Endicott still leads the all-time series, 18-13 (11-4 at home). 

FOR THE FOES

• Junior guard Marcos Echevarria (Lynn, Mass.) compiled a game-high and season-high 35 points (11-for-20 FG, 6-for-12 3PT, 7-for-7 FT) to go along with six rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
• Echevarria has scored 20 or more points in 13 games this season.
• Daequon Antoine (Fort Mill, S.C.) contributed 18 points, five rebounds, a block, and two steals.
• Matt Morrow (Leicester, Mass.) handled the post with 14 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks, an assist, and a steal.
• It also marked Morrow's second double-double of the season.
• The Bison have won six out of their last seven games. 

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (12-6, 7-4 CCC) travels to Curry on Saturday, January 27 at 3 PM. Nichols (15-3, 9-2 CCC) visits Gordon this Saturday at 3 PM. 

For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

(Photo Credit - David Le '10)