Jan. 29, 2008
BEVERLY, Mass. - Endicott College placed four players in double-figures as the Gulls won their third-straight game, downing Emmanuel College, 64-62, on Tuesday evening in a non-conference men's basketball game in Beverly, Massachusetts.
Emmanuel entered the Tuesday showdown having won five-straight and 11 of its last 12; however the Saints found themselves in a quick 9-5 hole early on. Graham Whitelaw (Kennebunk, Maine/Cheverus) got into a shooter's groove in the opening minutes, knocking down a quick catch and release jumper off a screen at the far elbow to make the score 4-3. Two possessions later Whitelaw put Endicott up four as he buried a deep 3-ball with the shot clock winding down.
The Gulls offense kicked it into overdrive as they neared the midpoint of the first half. A pair of three pointer's from Gary Corbett (Danbury, Conn./Danbury) and Todd Burton (Lynn, Mass./St. Mary's/Canterbury) and a strong two-handed dunk from Justin Martin (Cromwell, Conn./Cromwell) capped off a 10-0 run as the Blue and Green pulled ahead 21-11. Emmanuel used the 3-ball and strong pressure late to pull within one before the intermission, as Andres Bustamante (Amherst, Mass./Amherst) and Rob Williams-Hinton (Oak Park, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit) each connected from behind the arc to send the Saints into the locker room trailing 33-32.
A full-court press from Emmanuel threw the Gulls fits throughout the second half, as the Saints caused 13 of Endicott's 21 turnovers in the second stanza. Back-to-back buckets from Mack Spellman (Clinton, N.Y./Clinton Central) and Levi Smith (Tulsa, Okla./Bishop Kelley) gave the Saints a three point lead. Endicott responded by regaining the advantage on a successful lay-up from Joey Burgos (Lawrence, Mass./Lawrence) and a nice pull-up jumper from Mike Rhodes (Amston, Conn./East Catholic).
Down eight with 4:29 remaining in regulation, Emmanuel began to turn it on. Mack Spellman scored four quick points on a lay-in and consecutive free throws to cut the lead to four. On the ensuing inbounds, J.P. Ventura (Riva, Md./McDonogh) created a Joey Burgos turnover and immediately signaled for a timeout. The Saints called Spellman's number again after drawing up their play, and Spellman nailed a turn-around jumper to make the score 61-59.
The Emmanuel press once again resulted in an Endicott giveaway, putting the Saints on the line after a whistled reach in by the Gulls. Ventura connected on one of his two attempts to make it a one point game. Thirty seconds later, Joey Burgos was put on the line after he was fouled going for a defensive board, and the junior forward made the front end of two attempts to make it a two point game.
Mack Spellman continued his valiant final-minute effort as he sunk another step-back jumper with 1:02 remaining to even the game at 62-all. With possession, Endicott began to work the game clock. With the shot clock winding down, freshman Ben Ford (Hanson, Mass./Whitman-Hanson) was forced to put up a 3-pointer, however he was fouled by Spellman during the shot. After missing the first free throw, Ford's second and third attempts were good to put the Gulls up 64-62. The Saints had multiple looks to force overtime, however each fell short.
Emmanuel was led by Mack Spellman's game-high 22 points on 9-of-22 shooting. Spellman also led the Saints with seven rebounds. Rob Williams-Hinton finished with 13 points while Levi Smith posted 12 in the losing effort.
Joey Burgos notched a team-high 14 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks. Graham Whitelaw and Todd Burton each had 12 points while Gary Corbett finished the night 10 points and three assists. The Endicott defense had seven blocks in the victory.
With the win, Endicott has now won three-straight to up its record to 7-10 overall (3-2 TCCC). The Gulls return to action on Thursday night as they square-off with TCCC leader Roger Williams University. The Commonwealth Coast Conference showdown will be webcast on Endicott All-Access with tip-off scheduled for 6:00 pm in Beverly, Massachusets.
