Jan. 10, 2009
BEVERLY, Mass. - Endicott College outscored Eastern Nazarene 42-23 in the second half, erasing a four-point halftime deficit to lift the Gulls over the Crusaders, 77-62, in each teams The Commonwealth Coast Conference opener on Saturday afternoon in Beverly, Mass. Endicott ups its record to 5-6 overall and 1-0 in conference play, while ENC slips to 3-8 and 0-1 in the TCCC.
The Gulls were quick out of the gate on Saturday, mounting an early 6-2 lead behind back-to-back three-pointers by Graham Whitelaw (Kennebunk, Maine) and Ross Stewart (Palm Harbor, Fla.). The lead would be short-lived, however, as the visitors stormed back to the tune of an 11-6 run, capped off by a DeAngelo Alston (Columbia, S.C.) fast break lay-in to give the Crusaders a 13-12 lead.
ENC would build its lead to as many as seven points in the closing moments of the opening frame. Eastern Nazarene's DiAndre Brown (Sicklerville, N.J.) scored six of his team-high 17 points in the final 4:52 of the half to give the Crusaders a 39-35 lead heading into the intermission.
Endicott started the second stanza by quickly chipping away at the visitor's lead. The Gulls' used a solid inside attack by scoring on four-straight lay-ups to take a slight, 49-48, lead with 11:15 left in regulation. From there, the Blue and Green rattled off a game-changing 17-4 run that included a pair of connections from behind the arc by Graham Whitelaw. The Gulls would extend their lead to as many as 17 points down the stretch, eventually posting the 77-62 conference victory.
Endicott was led by Chris Galbraith's (Lowell, Mass.) 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting in just 19 minutes of action off the bench. Whitelaw closed out the afternoon with 17 points and six assists, while Erik Callo (Southington, Conn.) posted 13 points, six rebounds, one block and three assists.
Eastern Nazarene had three players reach double figures. DiAndre Brown led the guests with 17 points, while junior Alex Carr (Middletown, Md.) had 15 points and four assists. DeAngelo Alston posted 12 points in the losing effort.
Endicott held a massive 40-16 advantage in points in the paint, while also converting 23 Crusaders' turnovers into 21 points. The Gulls' bench also held the edge over ENC's reserves, as the Blue and Green scored 36 points to Eastern Nazarene's 11.
Endicott looks to move to 2-0 in conference play as the Gulls host Nichols College on Tuesday evening at 8:00 p.m. The Bison are coming off an 81-71 win over Roger Williams. Eastern Nazarene hopes to rebound on the same evening as it hosts Wentworth.
