Box Score DUDLEY, Mass. (Jan. 11) – The Endicott College men's basketball team edged Nichols, 69-68, in a wild overtime finish to a The Commonwealth Coast Conference contest Tuesday evening. Endicott improves to 8-5 overall and 1-1 in TCCC games after winning five of its last six games. Nichols dips to 3-9 overall and 0-2 in conference action.

Four players scored in double digits for the Gulls, led by Jordan Lewis and Lance Greene who each scored 13 points and pulled down five rebounds. Lachlan Magee added 12 points and five boards while Aaron Karkow (chipped in with 10 points. Lewis dished out five assists.

Ryan Sheehan (North Attleboro, Mass.) scored 26 second-half points for the Bison, while Justin Kuntz (Wallingford, Conn.) added 16. Kyle Mascilak (Sparta, N.J.) scored 14 points and had five rebounds.

Both teams struggled through the first half, combining for 36 points on a 26% effort from the field (13-50). Nichols controlled the glass, outrebounding Endicott at a 27-14 clip, but fell victim to turnovers, racking up 18 in the half to allow the Gulls to score 15 of their first half points off errors.

The second half was a completely different ballgame, as the teams went on an offensive blitz, combining for 86 points while firing a scorching-hot combined 55.6% from the field. Endicott took a 29-28 lead less than three minutes into the second half and built up its advantage to as many as 11 before Nichols slowly chipped away at it. A Mascilak three-pointer knotted the game, 60-60, with 48 seconds left in regulation. The ensuing Gulls inbounds pass was intercepted by Michael Salis (Pelham, N.H.), but the Bison couldn't hold onto the ball. After a pair of Endicott time outs with a shade over three seconds left, Kuntz thwarted the final Gulls attempt and sent the game to OT.

Kuntz and Mascilak teamed up to put the Bison up by three, 64-61, by the 3:37 mark, but two key stops and a layup from Magee – who had five points in the extra session – saw the Gulls take a 67-66 lead with 1:32 left to play. Sheehan sank a pair of free throws with 26 ticks left on the clock, but Bennett Knowlton sank a jumper with six seconds left to put Endicott back on top, 69-68. Nichols brought the ball down the court before calling a time out and tried a last-effort three-pointer, but it clanged off the rim.

Endicott rallied to shoot 44.4%, while Nichols fared similarly at 42.9% in the game. The Bison held a 48-30 rebounding advantage, getting a 30-20 lead on the defensive end. Endicott benefitted from 27 Nichols turnovers, parlaying them into 25 points.

Nichols is back in action Saturday in a 3 p.m. TCCC game at New England College. Endicott hosts Western New England College Saturday at 3 p.m. for a conference game

Box Score