BOSTON, Mass. – The Endicott men's basketball team battled back late in the second half against Wentworth to force overtime, but the Gulls bid to earn a road conference victory fell short 70-66 at Nelson Recreation Center despite a game-tying three at the end of regulation and a game-high 24 points from sophomore guard John Henault (Lunenburg, Mass.).
Endicott (7-5, 2-3 CCC) has dropped back-to-back CCC games and will look to get back on track on Saturday, January 12th at 3:00 pm on the road against Curry. The Colonels are unbeaten in conference play at 5-0.
With the win, Wentworth improved to 8-5 overall and 4-2 in conference. The Leopards visit Roger Williams on Saturday with a 3:00 pm tip-off.
Endicott trailed by seven points at 58-51 with 2:23 remaining in regulation but a 9-2 run, capped off by Henault's three-pointer, sent the game into overtime. Over the final moments of regulation, Gulls senior guard Lance Greene (Dorchester, Mass.) made back-to-back baskets in the lane before Henault scored five straight points to tie the game at 60-60.
In the overtime period, Endicott held a lead twice at 64-63 and 65-64 thanks to jumpers by Greene and sophomore forward Tell White (New Castle, N.H.), but Wentworth would score the final five points of the game to get the win. Leopards senior guard Dailon Wilson (Houston, Texas) scored the go-ahead layup with 1:13 to go and a free throw by senior Corey Therriault (Auburn, Maine), who scored his 1,000th career point in the first half, and a fast-break layup by sophomore guard Nico Donato (Glastonbury, Conn.) accounted for the final points.
Wentworth was led offensively by a trio of guards with 15 points apiece. Donato and junior Derek Mayo (Casco, Maine) hit the mark in starting roles while senior Colin Johnson (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) came off the bench to score 15 as well.
For the Gulls, Henault followed up his career-high 33-point effort versus Nichols two days ago with 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting including 2-of-4 from three-point range and 2-of-3 at the line. He added four rebounds and a steal. Greene finished with 18 points, five rebounds, four steals, and two assists. Sophomore forward Andre Makris (Southbury, Conn.) returned from injury to score 13 points off the bench with five boards.
Endicott's leading rebounder in this game was White who grabbed a game-high 14 caroms, including four on the offensive glass. White added eight points of 3-of-6 from the field with two assists. Freshman guard Dan Powers (Westwood, Mass.) dished out a season-high seven assists in 22 minutes off the bench.
As a team, Endicott shot 41.2% from the floor, 20.0% from three-point range, and 63.6% from the free throw line. They grabbed 41 boards, 14 of which were offensive. Wentworth shot 39.7% from the floor, 21.4% from beyond the arc, and 47.4% at the line. The Leopards haulted in 47 rebounds, 19 on the offensive glass.
