Gulls Drop Overtime Thriller, 80-78, To Eastern Nazarene As Basden And Sampson Notch Double-Doubles

QUINCY, Mass.-  Junior guard Stephen Basden (Lynn, Mass.) and junior forward Daquan Sampson (Germantown, Md.) both notched double-doubles, but it wasn't enough as the Endicott men's basketball team fell, 80-78, in an overtime thriller Saturday afternoon inside the Lahue Physical Education Center to Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) foe, Eastern Nazarene.

With the loss, the Gulls dropped to 10-7 overall, 7-3 in the CCC, while Eastern Nazarene improved to 12-5, and 6-4 in conference play on the season as both teams opened the second half of the conference schedule today.

In a game that would see four ties and four lead changes, Endicott battled early on to take a 7-5 lead on junior guard Max Motroni's (West Warwick, R.I.) layup with 18:30 on the clock.

The Gulls fired off 31 shots in the first half and made 18 of them (58.1 percent) compared to the Lions' 12-of-29 (41.4 percent) from the field to head into halftime holding on to a 41-33 advantage at the break.

Endicott had its largest lead of the game, up by 12 (47-35) with 17:42 remaining in regulation on freshman guard Rob O'Brien's (Rindge, N.H.) layup. The tides soon turned in the second half when Eastern Nazarene clawed its way back with a 12-0 run to tie the game at 47-all at the 13:11 mark.

The Gulls went ahead, 50-47, on Motroni's trey at 11:38, and clung to a 56-54 advantage with 6:02 to play until the Lions were able to stay in the game thanks in part to a seven points down the stretch from senior forward Lequan Gomes (Fairfield, Calif.). Gomes sunk the game-tying three-pointer with 29 seconds left to send the game to overtime tied, 64-64.

The Lions led throughout the extra session to complete the comeback victory.

Basden scored a season-high 17 points on 7-of-8 from the field and 3-of-4 from the free throw line to lead the Gulls and registered his first career double-double with a career-high 12 rebounds.

BEYOND THE BOX

• Junior guard Kamahl Walker (Worcester, Mass) had his 28-game double-digit scoring streak snapped with an eight-point performance today.
• Sampson recorded his sixth double-double of the season as he tallied 11 points and a team-leading 15 rebounds (his second-most this season).
• Motroni chipped in 13 points with six assists and two rebounds and junior guard Drew Sawyer (Norwalk, Conn.) added 11 points with three rebounds and four steals as the Gulls placed a total of four student-athletes in double figures.
• Basden pulled down a career-high five offensive rebounds as part of his career-high 12 boards.
• The Gulls out-rebounded the Lions, 43-30.
• The Gulls are 1-1 in overtime this season. (Defeated Nichols in Dudley, Mass., 82-78, in OT on Dec. 2, 2015.)
• Endicott turned the ball over a season-high 25 times.
• The Gulls are 7-3 this season when having a lead at halftime.
• 23 points in the second half was the Gulls' lowest point total in any half this season.

FOR THE FOES

• Senior guard Jaylen Owens (Johns Creek, Ga.) and Gomes each contributed a game-high 23 points.
• Gomes and senior guard Jeremy Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) each grabbed a team-leading six rebounds off the glass and had a team-leading five steals apiece.
• The Lions scored 29 points off of 25 Gulls' turnovers.
• Eastern Nazarene opened the season on a nine-game winning streak, lost five in a row, and now has won the past three consecutive games.
• The Lions are 1-0 in overtime this season.

NOTES

• Endicott is 18-10 all-time and 6-5 on the road at Eastern Nazarene dating back prior to the 2002 season.
• The Gulls are 2-1all-time in overtime versus Eastern Nazarene.
• In the most previous meeting before tonight, Eastern Nazarene edged Endicott, 71-65, in Beverly, Mass. on Dec. 5, 2015.
• The Gulls have won four of the past seven meetings, though lost both matchups this season.

WHAT'S NEXT

Both teams return to action on Wednesday, January 27 as the Gulls (10-7, 7-3 CCC) host Nichols College at 7:30 p.m., while Eastern Nazarene (12-5, 6-4 CCC) takes on Curry in Quincy, Mass. at 5:00 p.m.  

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