Endicott hangs on to edge USM, 53-46
Nov. 16, 2008
BEVERLY, Mass. - Senior guard Ross Stewart (Palm Harbor, Fla.) drove the lane with just over a minute left in regulation and threw down a one-handed slam, helping seal a 53-46 non-conference win over the University of Southern Maine on day two of the DIME Magazine Tip-Off Tournament on Sunday afternoon in Beverly, Mass. Justin Martin (Cromwell, Conn.) pinned a USM Sean Bergeron (Kennebunk, Maine) lay-up attempt on the ensuing possession to end any comeback thoughts by the visitors.
The Gulls started the afternoon off in impressive fashion, quickly building 20-10 lead midway through the opening half after a steal and fast-break lay-in by Graham Whitelaw (Kennebunk, Maine). The Blue and Green would stretch their advantage to 35-20 at the break, ending the half with a well orchestrated screen play at the top of the arc for freshman Tanner McEntee (Del Mar, Calif.). The Endicott rookie rolled off the pick and buried a three-ball just as time expired, sending Endicott into half with a 15 point lead.
The Huskies refused to go quietly as USM sprinted out of the intermission with an 11-2 run, capped off by a Greg Whitaker (Presque Isle, Maine) lay-up off a feed from Mike Poulin (Readfield, Maine). The Gulls would rebound and rebuild their lead to 10, 47-37, with just over six minutes left as Justin Martin used his size in the paint and went high of the glass for a hard fought two points.
The Huskies fired back with another run, this time out scoring the Gulls 7-2 to make it a five point game. On Endicott's next possession, Ross Stewart found himself near the Endicott bench with 1:30 left in regulation. Working time off the clock, a lane appeared in front of the senior, allowing a wide-open drive past the Husky defense before throwing down with a hard right hand slam. The Endicott defense then met the challenge as 6'8" center Justin Martin swatted away the lay-up bid by USM to seal the win.
Junior guard Bobby Montrond (Brockton, Mass.) led all scorers with 12 points on 4-of-10 shooting. Montond had six rebounds, five assists and three steals for the Gulls. Whitelaw finished the afternoon with eight points and three steals, while Justin Martin had seven rebounds and three blocks in the win. Freshman Aaron Karkow (Uncasville, Conn.) scored nine points while pulling in five rebounds. The rookie also blocked three shots in 19 minutes of action.
The University of Southern Maine was led by Andy Tracy's (Ellsworth, Maine) 10 points and five rebounds. The Huskies also got a nine point, seven rebound effort out of Sean Bergeron.
With the win, Endicott improves to 2-0 on the season while Southern Maine slips to 0-2. The Huskies return to action on Tuesday evening as they host neighboring University of New England a 7:30 p.m. Endicott looks to run its winning streak to three as the Gulls travel to Emmanuel on Saturday at 5:00 p.m.
In the early game, Lesley University's Jesus Trejo (Methuen, Mass.) posted 28 points and seven rebounds as the Lynx defeated the Wentworth Leopards, 77-74.
Wentworth (1-1) shot well to open the game and built an early eight point lead, fueled by junior forward Matt Abbott (Falmouth, Mass.) and sharpshooting senior Todd Doyle (Mystic, Conn.). With just over 15 minutes remaining in the first half, Doyle sank his second three-pointer of the game, giving the Leopards a three point lead. With the made basket, Doyle eclipsed the 1,000 point mark for his career.
Doyle and Abbott again caught fire later in the first half, building a comfortable 12 point cushion for the Leopards. Trejo helped bring the Lynx back, scoring nine points in the final five minutes of the frame, bringing the halftime score to 44-39 in favor of Wentworth.
Kevin Wentworth (Ware, Mass.) sank back-to-back three-pointers to help the Leopards log a nine point lead with seven minutes remaining in regulation. However, the Lynx big men of Trejo and Malcolm Andrews (Medford, Mass.) would take the game over, scoring a combined 10 points in the paint and capitalizing at the free-throw line to give Lesley a late-game lead. Lesley's Matt Grassa (Everett, Mass.) would hit a pair of free throws with four seconds left to help ice the game for the Lynx and earn them their first victory of the season.
Lesley outscored Wentworth in the paint by a margin of 42-16, and held the rebounding advantage, 33-25.
Both teams hold a 1-1 record following the opening weekend of play. Lesley's next game is at Westfield State on November 19 at 7:00 p.m. Wentworth will host Framingham State College on November 18 at 7:00 p.m.