BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott men's basketball team saw their seven-game win-streak come to an end at home on Wednesday evening in a match up of the top two teams in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) as Nichols defeated Endicott 76-71. The Gulls dropped to 11-3 (5-2 CCC) on the season and will look to get back in the win column on Saturday, January 18th against Western New England at home. Tip-off is at 3:00 pm.
Nichols (10-4, 6-1 CCC) took over sole possession of first place in the league as the only remaining team with just one conference loss. The Bison leaned on senior forward Ryan Sheehan (North Attleboro, Mass.) to lead the visitors down the stretch as Sheehan netted 15 of his game-high 25 points in the second half. He connected on 8-of-15 attempts from the floor including 4-of-5 from three-point range and 5-of-6 at the free throw line.
With just a one point lead at halftime for Endicott, Nichols came out of the locker room with a 14-5 run to take control of the game. Sheehan converted a couple of three-point attempts during that stretch and fellow senior Sam Horning (Falmouth, Maine) adding another five points.
The Gulls responded as freshman guard Max Motroni (West Warwick, R.I.) initiated a barrage of three-pointers for Endicott. Motroni hit three three-balls in a span of two minutes to pull Endicott within four and junior forward Andre Makris (Southbury, Conn.) add another to make it a one point game with 13:51 remaining in the second half.
Nichols pushed their lead back up to five following a three-point basket by junior guard Marlon Bennett (Stratford, Conn.) but Endicott went on another run with baskets by junior John Henault (Lunenburg, Mass.) and senior guard Greg Jacques (Brockton, Mass.) and tied the game at 61 with 8:06 to go. The two teams would exchange the lead over the next five minutes.
A layup by Nichols sophomore guard Christian Horton (Rutland, Mass.) put the Bison ahead 65-64 and another Sheehan jumper extended the lead up to three with 2:37 on the clock. After a Gulls free throw, Nichols came out of a timeout with a devastating three-pointer by Sheehan to make it a five-point game in favor of the Bison with only 1:15 to go.
Endicott would get a late three by Jacques with 13 seconds remaining, but free throws by Horton and Sheehan helped put the game away.
Endicott was led by Motroni's 15 points with Makris and Jacques contributing with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Freshman forward Daquan Sampson (Germantown, Md.) nearly recorded his third double-double of the season with nine points and 10 boards, three of which were offensive.
Nichols had three players in double figures. Sheehan netted 25, sophomore guard Jalen Hurst (Hartford, Conn.) added 14 points, and Bennett scored 11 off the bench. Junior forward Joe Gallant (Salem, N.H.) led the team in rebounding with six caroms while blocking five shots.