EMMANUEL FALLS SHORT AT ENDICOTT IN NON-CONFERENCE BATTLE
Jan. 30, 2008
Beverly, MA - Endicott College placed four players in double-figures as the Gulls won their third-straight game, downing Emmanuel, 64-62, on Tuesday evening in a non-conference men's basketball game in Beverly, Mass. The Saints entered the Tuesday showdown having won five-straight and 11 of its last 12. However, the Saints found themselves in a hole early in the opening half.
The Gulls' offense kicked it into overdrive as they neared the midpoint of the first half. A pair of three-pointers from Gary Corbett (Danbury, CT) and Todd Burton (Lynn, MA) and a strong two-handed dunk from Justin Martin (Cromwell, CT) capped off a 10-0 run as the Gulls pulled ahead 21-11. Emmanuel used the 3-ball and strong pressure late to pull within one before the intermission, as Andres Bustamante (Amherst, MA) and Rob Williams-Hinton (Oak Park, MI) each connected from behind the arc to send the Saints into the locker room trailing 33-32.
A full-court press from Emmanuel threw the Gulls fits throughout the second half, as the Saints caused 13 of Endicott's 21 turnovers in the second stanza. Back-to-back buckets from Mack Spellman (Clinton, NY) and Levi Smith (Tulsa, OK) gave the Saints a three point lead. Endicott responded by regaining the advantage on a successful lay-up from Joey Burgos (Lawrence, MA) and a nice pull-up jumper from Mike Rhodes (Amston, CT).
Down eight with 4:29 remaining in regulation, Emmanuel began to turn it on. Mack Spellman scored four quick points on a lay-in and consecutive free throws to cut the lead to four. On the ensuing inbounds, J.P. Ventura (Riva, MD) created a Joey Burgos turnover and immediately signaled for a timeout. The Saints called Spellman's number again after drawing up their play, and Spellman nailed a turn-around jumper to make the score 61-59.
The Emmanuel press once again resulted in an Endicott giveaway, putting the Saints on the line after a whistled reach in by the Gulls. Ventura connected on one of his two attempts to make it a one point game. Thirty seconds later, Endicott's Joey Burgos was put on the line after he was fouled going for a defensive board, and the junior forward made the front end of two attempts to make it a two point game.
Mack Spellman continued his valiant final-minute effort as he sunk another step-back jumper with 1:02 remaining to even the game at 62-all. With possession, Endicott began to work the game clock. With the shot clock winding down, freshman Ben Ford (Hanson, MA) was forced to put up a 3-pointer, however he was fouled by Spellman during the shot. After missing the first free throw, Ford's second and third attempts were good to put the Gulls up 64-62. The Saints had multiple looks to force overtime, however each fell short.
Emmanuel was led by Spellman's game-high 22 points on 9-of-22 shooting. Spellman also led the Saints with seven rebounds. Williams-Hinton finished with 13 points, while Smith posted 12 in the losing effort.
For Endicott, Burgos notched a team-high 14 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks. Graham Whitelaw (Kennebunk, ME) and Burton each had 12 points, while Corbett finished the night 10 points and three assists. The Endicott defense had seven blocks in the victory.
With this loss, the Saints fall to 11-6 on the season. Emmanuel will be back in action on Thursday night (1/31), when the Saints host the Falcons of Albertus Magnus College in a 5:30pm start.