Feb. 26, 2008
MILTON, Mass. - Sophomore Mark Mastrullo (Billerica, Mass.) tallied 16 points, five assists and four rebounds to help lead top-seeded Curry College to a 63-53 win over eighth-seeded Endicott College in Tuesday night's The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) Tournament Quarterfinals.
With the victory, Curry (16-10) extended its school-record winning streak to nine and advanced to the TCCC Semifinals on Thursday, February 28.
With the score tied at 4-4 early in the opening half, the visiting Gulls went on a 13-8 spurt that provided them a 17-12 edge with 8:27 remaining. However Curry answered back with a 19-8 run of its own and brought a 31-25 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
The hosts built a lead as large as eight points numerous times in the second half, but each time, Endicott chipped away. Still, the visitors could only get as close as 52-51 after a lay-up from sophomore Graham Whitelaw (Kennebunk, Maine) with 2:55 remaining in the contest. The Colonels finished on an 11-2 run to account for the 63-53 final.
Senior Johnathan Bowers (Kalamazoo, Mich.) led Curry with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Mastrullo shot 6-of-9 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line in collecting his 16 points. Also scoring in double-digits for the Colonels' was junior Quashed Simmons (Paterson, N.J.), who contributed 12 points to go along with five assists.
Senior Todd Burton (Lynn, Mass.) scored a team-high 17 points and dished out a team-best five assists. Junior Joey Burgos (Lawrence, Mass.) poured in 12 points for the Gulls, and led his team with seven rebounds and five steals.
Curry will host \#4 Western New England College in Thursday night's semifinals. Endicott closes out its season at 11-15.
