Last-second shot lifts Fighting Scots
Feb. 2, 2008
BEVERLY, Mass. - Gordon College's Jon Marstaller (Naples, Maine/Lake Region) took an inbounds pass with four seconds remaining in regulation and drained a 3-ball in the far corner to lift the Fighting Scots past Endicott, 56-55, in a TCCC cross-town showdown on Saturday afternoon in Beverly, Massachusetts.
Endicott opened the contest having won its last four, and the Blue and Green quickly took it to their North Shore rivals. Todd Burton (Lynn, Mass./St. Mary's/Canterbury) and Tom Connor (Kittery, Maine/Traip Academy) traded bucket-for-bucket in the early going, catapulting Endicott to an 8-2 lead. The Gulls would extend that margin to as many as 14 points, as Joey Burgos (Lawrence, Mass./Lawrence) sunk a pull-up jumper with 11:53 showing on the clock to put EC ahead, 16-2.
Applying the "bend but do not break" mentality, Gordon made a mid-half run of its own. Sophomore guard Aaron Trigg (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley West) got the charge started as he took a feed from Jeff Derr (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) and buried a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 11. The Fighting Scots used an impressive 22-7 run, capped off by a trey from Jeff Derr, to take their first lead of the game, 24-23.
Cameron Twiss (Reading, Mass./Bishop Fenwick) returned the lead to the Endicott side as he powered his way to the rim for a hard-fought two. The Gulls would hold a slight, 30-28, lead as each team headed into the intermission.
The Gulls returned to form to start the second half as the hosts quickly rattled off seven of the opening nine points to begin the frame. Gordon once again answered the bell as Tim MacDonnell (Jericho, Vt./Mount Mansfield) and Justin Kaufman (Redding, Conn./Christian Heritage) dialed in from behind the arc on consecutive possessions to slice the lead back down to two.
Moment's later, the Fighting Scots were once again able to rely on the long-ball as Brady Bajema (Whitinsville, Mass./Whitinsville Christian) sunk a 3-pointer to give the Scots a one possession lead. Aaron Trigg would put Gordon up by four as he earned two in the paint with 7:19 left in the second.
Gary Corbett (Danbury, Conn./Danbury) and Joey Burgos went back-to-back on the inside to re-tie the contest. On the following possession, Cameron Twiss found himself at the top of the key and he drove the lane for a tough two. Todd Burton completed the eight point swing as he slashed his way through the inside, putting the Gulls ahead 55-51 with 2:27 left in regulation.
The Fighting Scots defense buckled down in the closing minutes, and following a Jeff Derr lay-in on a pass from Jon Marstaller, the EC lead was cut to two. Following a Gordon timeout, the Fighting Scots' Marstaller intercepted an errant pass from Graham Whitelaw (Kennebunk, Maine/Cheverus) to setup the late game heroics. With memories invoked of Endicott's buzzer-beating win last year at home against Gordon -see here-, Justin Kaufman attempted to tie the game on a drive to the hole. Junior forward Joey Burgos met the senior point-guard with a game-saving block with six ticks left in regulation. Following another GC timeout, Jon Marstaller took the inbounds pass and buried a 3-ball in the far corner to put Gordon ahead, 56-55. Endicott's last second tip-in attempt missed its mark, sending the Fighting Scots to the one point win.
Gordon's Aaron Trigg led all scorers as he dropped in a game-high 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Jon Marstaller finished the afternoon with 11 points, two steals and two assists; while Jeff Derr posted 10 points and three assists in the win.
Endicott was paced by Joey Burgos' 11 points and game-high six rebounds. Todd Burton had 10 points while Gary Corbett finished with eight points and six boards. The Gulls' out-rebounded Gordon 33-18 and held a decisive advantage in second chance points, 17-3.
With the win, Gordon improves to 14-4 overall and 6-2 in The Commonwealth Coast Conference. The Fighting Scots return to action on Tuesday as they step out of conference play to meet Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. Endicott's (8-11, 4-3 TCCC) four-game winning streak has come to end. The Gulls travel to Colby-Sawyer on Wednesday for a TCCC contest with the Chargers.