BEVERLY, Mass. – Endicott College’s \#Aaron Karkow\# (Uncasville, Conn.) and \#Lance Greene\# (Dorchester, Mass.) each netted 16 points as the Gulls defeated Anna Maria College, 74-63, in the The Commonwealth Coast Conference basketball action on Wednesday night in Beverly, Mass. With the win, the Gulls improve to 7-8 overall and 2-2 in the TCCC while Anna Maria falls to 6-10 and 1-3 in conference games.

Endicott jumped out to an early 9-2 lead on a Karkow three-ball, however, the lead quickly evaporated as Anna Maria climbed back into the game and knotted the contest at 19-19 on a pair of free-throws from Junior De La Hoz (Lawrence, Mass.).

The AMCats eventually grabbed a four point lead with less than six minutes to play, but Endicott recouped momentum on a four-point play from Karkow that tied the game at 25-all. On the ensuing possession, Endicott’s \#Matt Bibeau\# (Wilmington, Mass.) picked up the hoop and the foul for a 28-25 edge. The Gulls closed out the period by stretching their lead to as large as eight before heading into the intermission leading, 39-33.

Endicott converted 11 points on eight AMCat turnovers in the first half, while Anna Maria got out on the fast break and held an 8-0 advantage in fast break points. Karkow led all scorers at the break with 11 points while Anna Maria received seven points apiece from De La Hoz and Anthony Click (Springfield, Mass.).

Coming out of halftime, the Gulls pushed their lead to 12 on a pair of Bibeau free-throws before Anna Maria clawed back to within seven, 49-42, on a layup by Ryan Joyal (Marlboro, Mass.). That would be as close as the AMCats would get before Endicott grabbed a 14 point lead on a \#Lance Greene\# and-one layup. Anna Maria would only cut the lead to single digits one more time before \#Kevin McGuire\#’s (New City, N.Y.) off-balance runner and eventual free-throw with 2:04 remaining in the game silenced the visitors once and for all.

Karkow and Greene led all scorers with 16 points apiece while Karkow also had a game-high eight rebounds. \#Matt Bibeau\# also reached double-figures for the Gulls with 10 points and a pair of steals while \#Graham Whitelaw\# (Kennebunk, Maine) came off the bench and chipped in with eight points and five rebounds. The story of the game for EC was points off turnovers as the Blue and Green scored 24 points on 18 AMC missteps.

Anna Maria was led by 13 points from Anthony Click, who also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Jeremy Ross (Holden, Mass.) came off the bench to score 11 for the visitors.

Endicott returns to action on Saturday afternoon as the Gulls host Wentworth Institute of Technology at 3:00 p.m. in a TCCC matchup in Beverly, Mass. Anna Maria looks to snap a four-game losing skid when the AMCats travel to Biddeford, Maine on Saturday for a conference matchup with the University of New England at 8:00 p.m.