BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott men's basketball team battled visiting Gordon College for a hard-fought 80-73 win with double-doubles from junior forwards Daquan Sampson (Germantown, Md.) and Chris Lipscomb (West Springfield, Mass.) in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action on Saturday afternoon's "Youth Day" inside MacDonald Gymnasium.
The first half saw two tied scores and three lead changes as Gordon led by as much as six with 17:58 to play in the opening half on sophomore guard Jaren Yang's (San Francisco, Calif,) trey, before Endicott went on an 8-0 run, capped by Lipscomb's three-pointer to give Endicott a 10-8 lead with 15:47 on the clock.
The Gulls were in the driver's seat until freshman forward Garrisson Duvivier (Brockton, Mass.) briefly gave the lead back to Gordon, up 37-36, with two minutes before the break.
Junior guard Stephen Basden (Lynn, Mass.) hit a pair of free throws 10 seconds later to regain the lead and the Gulls took a 41-37 advantage into the locker room.
Duvivier led the floor with 11 points at the half, while junior guard Kamahl Walker (Worcester, Mass.) paced the Gulls with nine.
It was all Endicott in the second half, as the Gulls built their largest lead of the game (66-55) on senior guard Chris Light's (Derry, N.H.) free throw at the 7:08 mark of the second half.
Freshman guard Eric Demers (West Wareham, Mass.) cut Gordon's deficit to six, trailing 79-73, with 11 seconds remaining before the final buzzer sounded.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Gulls placed four student-athletes in double figures as Walker had 17 points, Sampson and Lipscomb each chipped in 11 points and 10 apiece each and junior guard Max Motroni (West Warwick, R.I.) added 10 points.
- Sampson registered his 10th double-double of the season (second consecutive), while Lipscomb picked up his first career double-double.
- Today was the first time Endicott had two Gulls with double-doubles.
- Motroni extended his double-digit scoring streak to 22, as he has scored double digits in every game he has played in this season.
- Endicott forced 14 Gordon turnovers and turned those into 20 points.
- Endicott tied its season-high with its fourth consecutive victory.
FOR THE FOES
- Duvivier scored a game-high 23 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, good for his CCC-leading 13th double-double of the season that he shares with teammate, junior forward Sam Johnson (Chatham, Mass.).
- Johnson also posted a double-double with 15 points and a team-high 11 rebounds.
- Demers added 19 points.
- Gordon won the battle off the glass, 48-41.
NOTES
- Endicott is now 20-17 all-time against the Fighting Scots, as the most recent meeting before today was a 75-60 win on the road on Jan. 16, 2016.
- The Gulls have won the past three head-to-head matchups after losing five in a row against Gordon and are 9-9 at home all-time dating back to the 1996 season.
- The Gulls swept Gordon in the regular season series for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
WHAT'S NEXT
Both teams are back in action on Tuesday, February 16, as the Gulls (14-9, 11-5 CCC) host Wentworth at 7:30 p.m. on "Team IMPACT/You're With Us" Night, while Gordon (11-12, 8-8 CCC) hosts Nichols at 5:30 p.m. For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
