NEWPORT, R.I. ­‑ Freshman guard Rob O'Brien (Rindge, N.H.) poured in a career-high 21 points as the Endicott men's basketball team came up short, 63-62, at Salve Regina University Saturday afternoon on Alumni Day inside the Rodgers Recreation Center.

In a game would feature five ties and four lead changes, the Gulls trailed in the opening stanza until junior guard Max Motroni  (West Warwick, R.I.) drained a three-pointer at the 9:28 mark of the first half to take a 15-14 advantage.

Junior guard Chris Lipscomb (West Springfield, Mass.) followed Motroni's trey with a layup with 8:27 in the first half for Endicott's largest lead of the game, up 17-14.

Salve Regina sophomore guard Bryce Boggs (Hyde Park, Mass.) had a lights out 20-point performance to lead all scorers in the first half as the Seahawks took a 38-33 lead into the locker room, while O'Brien and junior guard Stephen Basden (Lynn, Mass.) tallied eight points apiece in the first half for the Gulls.

The second half saw Salve Regina lead by as much as eight with 18:25 remaining in regulation, as junior forward Connor Costello (Southborough, Mass.) sunk a free throw to extend the lead to 41-33.

Endicott battled back to take a 51-50 edge on Motroni's layup-and-one with 9:15 to play, but back-and-forth basketball ensued as the teams traded buckets until junior forward Nicholas Bates (Danvers, Mass.) went on a 6-0 run of his own with a pair of layups and a jumper to put the hosts up, 61-55, and led the rest of the way.

Motroni attempted a pair of free throws (made one) with 20 seconds remaining to bring the final score to 63-62 in favor of the Seahawks.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• O'Brien scored a career-high 21 points as he hit a game-high five triples on nine attempts.
• Motroni joined O'Brien in double-figures with his 19th consecutive game of the season scoring at least 10 points with his 14 point, seven board effort today.
• Basden grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds.
• The Gulls forced 15 turnovers and turned those into 19 points off of the takeaways.
• Endicott has lost three games in a row for the first time all season.

FOR THE FOES

• Boggs registered a career-high 29 points (game-high) on 10-15 FG, 3-3 3 PT, 6-9 FT.
• Bates recorded his 11th double-double of the season as he chipped in 15 points and brought down a career-high 17 rebounds for a game-high.
• Bates has strung together seven consecutive games with a double-double.
• The Seahawks won the battle of the boards, 48 to 37.
• Salve Regina is on a three-game win streak.

NOTES

• Endicott is now 18-14 against Salve Regina and 6-11 on the road in the all-time series that dates back to 1994.
• The Seahawks snapped a three-game skid against Endicott and evened the 2015-16 series at 1-1.
• The Gulls won, 93-78, in the most recent meeting before today in Beverly, Mass. on Dec. 8, 2015.

 WHAT'S NEXT

Both teams hit the hardwood again on Tuesday, February 2 as the Gulls (10-9, 7-5 CCC) will host Curry at 5:30 p.m., while the Seahawks (8-11, 5-7 CCC) welcome Eastern Nazarene for a conference tilt at 7:30 p.m. 

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