BEVERLY, Mass. – In front of a capacity crowd at Endicott's MacDonald Gymnasium and taking on their crosstown and CCC rival Gordon, the Gulls men's basketball dropped a tightly contested league game to the Scots 80-75. Gordon trailed by as many as eight points in the second half but rallied to take the lead with 3:32 remaining on a three-pointer by freshman Dominic Paradis (Rochester, N.H.) and pulled away with another clutch three by senior Luke Hamilton (Mount Airy, N.C.) with just 24 ticks left.
Endicott (13-5, 7-4 CCC), despite falling to Gordon for the second time this season remains among the top three teams in the conference. The Gulls, however, have now lost back-to-back games twice this year and run their program losing streak versus Gordon to four in-a-row. The Scots improved to 9-4 overall (7-4 CCC) and snapped their recent two-game skid.
Endicott graduate student Lachlan Magee (Melbourne, Australia) poured in a game-high 22 points and turned it on in the second half with 16 points but the Blue and Green saw the lead they gained at the 7:19 mark of the first disappear late in the second stanza. Magee hit 6-of-8 shots from the floor and all nine free throw attempts as he rattled off his fourth straight dominating offensive effort. With his 22-point performance, Magee also moved past Endicott Hall of Famer Josh Oxton '05 into eight place on the all-time scoring list with 1,133 career points.
After Hamilton's three ball made it 77-72 with 24 seconds left, Endicott head coach Phil Rowe's play call out of the timeout turned into a three-pointer for junior guard John Henault (Lunenburg, Mass.) who made it a two-point game with just 10 seconds on the clock. A quick foul put Gordon senior Alex Carnes (Phoenix, Ariz.) on the line and the guard converted the first but missed the second attempt. The rebound, however, fell in the hands of Scots junior forward Jason Dempsey (Wallingford, Conn.) who drew a foul, hit his free throws, and sealed the win for Gordon.
Dempsey came on in the second half to finish with 11 points while contributing mightily to Gordon's significant rebounding advantage, 46-33, with eight boards including seven on the offensive glass. Scots big man Hans Miersma (Whitinsville, Mass.) recorded a double-double with 16 points and 11 boards while adding three assists, two blocks, and a steal. Carnes came off the bench to match Miersma with a team-high 16 points. Guard Park Thomas (Scotsdale, Ariz.) contributed with 15 points but facilitated the offense with six assists.
Endicott's next leading scorer was Henault with 14 points which came mostly behind the three-point line with 4-of-7 makes. Henault factored in defensive as well with a career-high four steals and a block. Senior guard Greg Jacques (Brockton, Mass.) added 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc while distributing four assists.
Endicott's leading rebounders came off the bench with junior Tell White (New Castle, N.H.) and sophomore Deven Richardson (Newark, N.J.) each hauling in five boards. Defensively, Gulls junior forward Matt Kneece (Shrewsbury, Mass.) grabbed four boards but set a personal best with four blocks.
Gordon played a strong game overall, shooting 46.2% from the field, 54.5% from three, and 66.7% at the line. Endicott put up a .362 field goal percentage, a .438 clip from three-point range, and a .818 success rate at the free throw line. The Gulls converted 19 Gordon turnovers into 20 points, but the Scots won the battle in the paint with a 30-24 scoring advantage and saw their bench outscore Endicott's 31-18.
The Gulls return to action on Saturday, February 1st with a road game at CCC opponent University of New England. Endicott defeated UNE 103-95 in overtime back on January 4th at home. The Nor'easters are 1-16 this season and have lost their last 11 games including nine conference match ups. Gordon visits Wentworth on Saturday for CCC action. Both games will tip off at 3:00 pm.