DUDLEY, Mass. – The Endicott men's basketball team ran into a hot-shooting Nichols squad on Thursday night and suffered a 78-74 road defeat as their recent three-game win streak came to a halt. Nichols, the CCC's leader in three-pointers made, knocked down 12 attempts from beyond the arc and warded off a late-game surge by the Gulls to remain undefeated in conference games this season.
Endicott (9-5, 5-2 CCC) struggled in the first half and found themselves down by as many as 16 points (30-14) before cutting into their double-digit deficit and settling on a 35-28 halftime score. The Bison used a full court press and forced 12 Endicott turnovers in the opening period, but the Gulls were able to break the press to get easy open layups to stay in contention.
Gulls sophomore guard and leading scorer Kamahl Walker (Worcester, Mass.) hit 5-of-9 shots in the first half to lead Endicott with 10 points. Nichols senior guard Matt Langadas (Sebago, Maine) set the tone for the home team's efficient three-point shooting by connecting on 4-of-6 attempts from beyond the arc, finishing with 15 points in the first half. The Bison also got 10 points and six rebounds from Irving Eggleston (East Lyme, Conn.) who would eventually record a double-double.
In the second half, Endicott toggled between single and double-digit deficits and trailed 62-50 with 10:00 remaining in the game. Gulls senior forward Andre Makris (Southbury, Conn.) found his shooting touch, netting 11 of his 15 points in the second period on 4-of-8 shots from the field including 2-of-3 from three-point range. While Makris was knocking down shots, so was Nichols junior guard Gustave Koumare (Harlem, N.Y.) who quickly became the game's leading scorer as he erupted for 21 points in the half with most of his damage coming from beyond the arc on 5-of-8 attempts. Koumare, who ended the game with 28 points as contributed with five assists, four rebounds, and four steals.
A 12-2 run by the Gulls trimmed a 12-point deficit to just two at 64-62 with 4:22 on the clock following a Walker layup. After a Chris Johnson (Mansfield, Mass.) layup put Nichols ahead 68-64, Endicott sophomore forward Daquan Sampson (Germantown, Md.) came down the other end and converted an old-fashioned three-point play off an assist from Stephen Basden (Lynn, Mass.) to make it a one-point game and 2:32 remaining.
The Bison quickly went ahead by six (73-67, 1:01 2nd) on another bucket by Johnson and a three-ball by Langadas, his first points of the second half, but Endicott orchestrated one last rally as free throws by sophomore guard Max Motroni (West Warwick, R.I.) and a clutch three by senior guard John Henault (Lunenburg, Mass.) made the score 73-72 with only 25 ticks remaining in the game.
After a Gulls timeout, Nichols put the game away on a three-point play by Johnson who was fouled on a made dunk to put the Bison up four. Motroni got another layup with seconds remaining but Eggleston hit a couple of free throws as Nichols held on for the home win.
Walker had a team-high 18 points and was complemented by 16 points from Motroni, 15 from Makris, and 12 from Henault. Motroni led Endicott with nine rebounds while also dishing out three assists. Gulls sophomore Drew Sawyer (Norwalk, Conn.) had a team-high four assists off the bench.
As a team, Endicott shot 43% from the floor, 38% (6-of-16) from three-point range, and 86% (12-of-14) at the free throw line. The Blue and Green held a slim 41-38 rebounding advantage and outscored Nichols 38-26 in the paint.
The Gulls travel to CCC rival Western New England on Saturday, January 17th for a 3:00 pm tip-off. The Golden Bears are currently 3-10 (1-5 CCC). Nichols (10-4, 7-0 CCC) takes their five-game win streak into a Saturday showdown with Wentworth at 3:00 pm in Boston.
