Feb. 14, 2009
NEWPORT, R.I. - Junior Graham Whitelaw (Kennebunk, Maine) scored a game-high 22 points to lead Endicott College to a 69-67 win over Salve Regina University in The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) men's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Rodgers Recreation Center.
Classmate Bobby Montrond (Brockton, Mass.) snared a game-high 12 rebounds to go along with six points, four assists and four steals for the Gulls (9-14, 4-7 TCCC), who snapped a three-game losing streak. Senior Justin Woodworth (Ipswich, Mass.) poured in a game-high 15 points for the Seahawks (12-11, 7-4 TCCC).
The Seahawks found themselves trailing by two (35-33) at halftime despite outshooting the Gulls 44.4 percent to 40.0 percent. Whitelaw led all scorers in the first half with 12 while sophomore Dan Royce (Mahwah, N.J.) sparked the Seahawks off the bench with 10 points. Salve Regina turned the ball over 13 times in the opening stanza, however, which led to 18 Gull points.
The Gulls held a slim lead throughout the second half before consecutive layups by senior Jabreche Boyd (West Haven, Conn.) took the Seahawks from down three to up one (54-53) with 8:34 left on the clock. A layup by Woodworth and a free throw by Boyd pushed the lead to four at 57-53 with 7:26 left, but a three-pointer from Whitelaw and a pair of free throws by junior Kevin McGuire (New City, N.Y.) put the Gulls back in front for good. They built their lead back up to as many as five (65-60) with three minutes remaining, and a pair of layups late in the quarter sealed the win. Woodworth knocked in a long three at the buzzer to close the scoring.
The two teams each finished with 37 rebounds, and the rest of the statistics reflect what the final score indicates - a very close contest. The Gulls held a 9-8 edge in steals while the Seahawks recorded one more assist (14-to-13) than the visitors. Salve Regina finished with a 45.0 shooting percentage while Endicott knocked down 39.7 percent of its shots.
Endicott looks to keep the ball rolling on Wednesday as the Gulls travel to Henniker, N.H. for a TCCC match-up with New England College. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
