Beverly, MA- MCLA's Tyriq Rochester tallied a team high 22 points, but MCLA fell to tournament host Endicott College 77-75 in the championship game of the North Shore Collegiate Tip-Off Classic. The Trailblazers are now 1-2 on the season, while Endicott moves to 2-1.
Endicott's Lance Greene converted a layup with two seconds left to give the Gulls the win. Endicott led 41-34 at the half and extended to the largest lead of 51-40 following an Andre Makris layup.
MCLA would begin to claw their way back into the game, trimming the deficit to just five points at 55-50 after a Richard Johnson dunk. The Gulls answered with a Makris triple, but then the Trailblazers kept chipping away. They finally pulled even at 73 apiece after a Rochester layup. After trading scores, the latter of which was a Chris Harris drive to the basket, the host Gulls set up a play and Greene converted with just two seconds remaining.
Harris was the only other Trailblazer in double figures, finishing with 11 points. For Endicott, five players scored in double figures, led by Makris with 15. John Henault scored 15 off the bench, while Tyler Burkhart added 12. Greene finished with 11 and Lachlan McGee added 10.
MCLA outrebounded Endicott 46-36 in the game.