Feb. 20, 2007
BEVERLY, MA - The Endicott College men's basketball team recovered from a difficult first half, as the Gulls shot their way to a come from behind Commonwealth Coast Conference Playoff victory over Nichols College, 67-57 on Tuesday night in Beverly, MA.
Nichols College shot out of the gate on Tuesday, as the Bison grabbed an early 11-5 lead after Ryan Wilcox (West Granby, CT/Granby) took a Chris Vallee (Fitchburg, MA/Oakmont) feed on the inside to put NC up six. The Bison continued applying the pressure in the early stages, as Eric Foster (Rochester, NH/Spaulding) connected from behind the arc to put the visitors up 12, 19-7.
Following an Endicott timeout, EC center Mike Sullivan (Marshfield, MA/Marshfield) showed his senior leadership as he scored on a low post move that started an 8-0 Endicott run to close out the first half, as the Gulls escaped into the dressing room only trailing by two, 23-21.
The big story in the first half was the defensive play of both clubs, as Endicott held CCC First Team selection Chris Vallee scoreless in the opening 20:00 minutes. The junior forward was 0-for-9 from the field and also missed his only free-throw attempt in the first half. On the other end of the floor, fellow First Team CCC receipt Nemanja Marinkovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Second Babtist, Houston, TX) was also shutout, as the senior forward shot 0-for-5 while grabbing two rebounds for the Gulls.
The second half started in the same fashion that the first ended, as Endicott held all the momentum early on. The Gulls returned to the MacDonald Gymnasium hardwood and promptly went on a game-changing 11-0 run that spanned just under four minutes. Refusing to be held at bay was Marinkovic, we came out of the dressing room and scored six points in the second half's opening five minutes.
The Bison did their best to ward off the Endicott rally, yet the Gulls were able to bury Nichols from long range. Graham Whitelaw (Kennebunk, ME/Cheverus) and Ross Stewart (Palm Harbor, FL/East Lake High School) teamed up to knock down three-straight three-pointers for the Blue and Green; possessions that took a 39-33 ballgame and blew it open to an insurmountable 48-35 Endicott lead. The Gulls would lead by as many as 17 on Tuesday, as Endicott was able to cruise down the stretch to a 67-57 CCC Playoff victory over Nichols College.
Endicott put four players in double figures, as Joey Burgos (Lawrence, MA/Lawrence) scored a team-high 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field. Tom Connor (Kittery, ME/Traip Academy) had a huge game for Endicott off the bench, as the senior center was instrumental in the EC success on the offensive glass. The 6-4 reserve ended the night with 10 points to go along with four rebounds. Graham Whitelaw and Mike Sullivan also chipped in 10 points apiece in the win.
Nichols only managed to get two players in double figures, as CCC Co-Rookie of the Year, Ryan Wilcox, finished his final game as a freshman with 15 points. Ron Powers (Millville, MA/Blackstone-Millville Regional) dropped in 11 points for the Bison. First Team All-CCC selection Chris Vallee finished the night 2-of-15 shooting with eight points and eight rebounds in the loss.
With the win, Endicott moves on to the CCC Semifinals on Thursday evening. The Gulls will travel to the CCC-South Division No. 1 seed Curry College. Endicott edged the Colonels 64-62 on January 27th at Curry. The rematch tips at 7:00 in Milton, MA.
