Feb 24, 2011
Boston, Mass. – The Endicott men's basketball team appeared poised for their first TCCC Championship appearance since the 2005-06 season, when they won the conference title, but Wentworth forward Derek Mayo's (Casco, Maine) reverse layup with 1:24 left in regulation gave the Leopards a 62-61 lead and eventually held on for the 63-61 semifinal victory.
Endicott (17-10) gave up the first basket of the game 21 seconds in the game but after six straight points by the Gulls, including four from freshman guard Tyler Burkhart (Cromwell, Conn.), the Blue and Green held the advantage until the game's final moments.
Wentworth (18-9) will be making their first trip to the TCCC Championship since the 2007 season and will face Salve Regina on Saturday, February 26th. Endicott will now anticipate an ECAC Tournament bid this upcoming Monday.
The Gulls outplayed the Leopards for the first 20 minutes of the game and went into halftime with a 34-24 lead. The opening half saw the Gulls shoot 63.6% (14-of-22) from the floor compared to 33.3% (9-of-27) by the opposition. Endicott's freshman guard Lance Magee (Melbourne, Australia) led all scorers in the first half with 10 points on a near perfect 4-of-5 shooting including 2-of-3 from behind the three-point line. Guard Lance Greene (Dorchester, Mass.) added eight points, three assists and a steal.
The Leopards were paced by big man Sam Herrick (Duxbury, Mass.) and guard Corey Therriault (Auburn, Maine) who netted eight and seven points, respectively.
In the second half, Wentworth outscored the Gulls 9-4 to shift the momentum of the game. Herrick scored six of those points as part of a 17-point second half effort by the senior center. A basket by Leopards forward Matt Harte (Troy, N.Y.) at 13:48 was answered by with a three-ball by Endicott forward Aaron Karkow (Uncasville, Conn.) as the Gulls maintained a five-point lead at 46-41 with 11:57 remaining.
Endicott proceeded to go on a 8-1 run to push their lead to its max at 12 points following a basket by senior forward Chris Galbraith (Lowell, Mass.). Wentworth guard Adam Dombrowski (Dunstable, Mass.) draned a three to trim the lead back to single digits, but Galbraith knocked down one of two free throw attempts to return Endicott's lead to 10 points. Two free throws by Herrick and a three-pointer by Therriault pulled the hosts within five with 5:55 to play.
At the 4:55 mark, Lance Greene's jumper put the Blue and Green up 61-54 but that was the last basket Endicott would score as the visitors would be held scoreless for the remainder of the game.
Wentworth went to work with tallies by Mayo and Dombrowski and free throws by Harte to cut the Gulls lead down to one with 2:56 to play. A turnover by Endicott gave Wentworth the ball and following an offensive rebound by Dombrowski, Mayo converted the go-ahead basket.
In the waning moments of the game and the Leopards up 63-61, Endicott was given a chance to either tie or move ahead with a three-pointer but jumpers by Magee and Karkow failed to go as the clock ran down to zero.
Magee paced the Gulls with 17 points while Greene added 14. Karkow and junior forward Erik Callo (Southington, Conn.) each had eight rebounds apiece for Endicott. Freshman guard Jordan Lewis (Windsor, Conn.) had five assists in the loss.
Story courtesy of Wentworth Institute of Technology Sports Information