Owls Fly Past Gulls, 79-61
Nov. 21, 2006
BEVERLY, MA - Nick Drouin (Weare, NH/John Stark Regional) and the Keene State College Owls continued their early season success, as they flew past the Endicott College Gulls, 79-61 Tuesday night in Beverly, MA.
The Owls opened the game with a hot hand, quickly building a 12-6 advantage. Nick Drouin, who scored a total of 46 points in Keene State's opening victories over Eastern Nazarene and Lesley College, continued his slick shooting dropping in a team high 16 points against Endicott.
Midway through the first half, the Owls Brandon Robinson (Jericho, VT/Union) connected on a pull-up jumper, extending Keene's lead to 26-14. However, the Gulls would not quit. Moments later, senior center Mike Sullivan (Marshfield, MA/Marshfield) grabbed a strong defensive rebound and made a quick outlet pass to junior forward Joey Burgos (Lawrence, MA/Lawrence) who converted on a lay-up to pull Endicott within seven at 26-19. The Owls would respond by closing out the first half by going on a 15-8 run, putting the visitors up 41-27 at the break.
The Gulls came out with new life in the second half, going toe-to-toe with Keene. The two teams traded buckets throughout the second frame. Endicott's Sullivan led all scorers on the night, as he chipped in for a game high 17 points and four rebounds. Despite a strong showing in the second half, the 14 point half time advantage was simply too steep for the Gulls to recover from, as Keene State cruised to the 79-61 win.
KSC showed their depth Tuesday night, as their bench outscored Endicott's, 38-12. The turnover story continues for the Gulls, as they gave the ball away 24 times resulting in 23 Keene State points.
Todd Burton (Lynn, MA/St. Mary's/Canterbury School) put together a strong game for Endicott, as he scored 12 points, dished out four assists, and pulled in five rebounds in the losing effort. Keene State's Shiwon Davis (Bridgeport, CT/Bunnelle) came off the bench for the Owls and dropped in 11 points, had four steals, and four assists in the win.
With the victory, Keene State moves to 3-0 on the season, while Endicott falls to 1-2. The Owls have a full week off, as they don't play again until next Tuesday night when they travel to Concord Tech to face New England College in the Jacobs Bridge through Autism Tournament. The Gulls return to action on Monday, when they head north to face Bates College at 7:00pm in Lewiston, Maine.