Men’s Basketball Edged by Nationally-Ranked Endicott, 72-68

QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College men's basketball team absorbed a 72-68 loss to #24 Endicott Saturday afternoon at the Lahue Physical Education Center.

The Lions slide to 3-4 on the year and 0-2 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference with the result. The Gulls improve to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in league play with the win.

Anthony Petrilli (Santa Clarita, Calif.) posted a team-high 15 points on the day while adding four rebounds and four assists. Christian Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) finished with 14 points, five boards, and four assists. Patrick Michel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) poured in 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds off the bench. Corey Doran (Fairfield, Calif.) chipped in with 12 points and four boards while Josh Rice (Hanson, Mass.) recorded a team-best 12 rebounds to go with four points.

The home team came out of the gates firing as Petrilli splashed a three-pointer on the game's opening possession.

After the Lions fell behind by four, the two teams traded buckets before the hosts pulled even with 13:09 to go as Max Stevenson (Victoria, Australia) knocked down a mid-range jumper, 13-13.

Eastern Nazarene reclaimed a two-point edge with 11:56 left to play in the first frame on a layup by Michel, 17-15.

Endicott grabbed a 27-26 lead with 6:15 on the clock and the Lions answered back to regain a 29-27 advantage as David Eddings (Endicott, N.Y.) drilled his first career three-pointer.

The Gulls leveled the score for the game's sixth tie with 4:34 remaining as Rob O'Brien converted two free throws, 29-29. O'Brien's two makes from the charity stripe ignited a 9-0 run to give the visitors a 36-29 lead at the halftime intermission.

Eastern Nazarene shot 36.4% from the field in the opening half while Endicott shot 36.7% from the floor.

The Gulls opened the second stanza with eight consecutive points to widen the gap to 15, 44-29, with 16:22 left to play.

Endicott extended its advantage to 23 with 12:50 to go on a layup by Drew Sawyer, 55-32.

The Lions chipped away at the margin and eventually narrowed the deficit to eight with 3:25 to go on a trey by Petrilli, 62-54.

The hosts pulled to within three with just under one minute remaining in regulation, 67-64, as Petrilli nailed his third three-pointer of the game.

Two free throws by Max Motroni padded the visitors' cushion to five points with 16 seconds left on the clock.

Eastern Nazarene responded with a layup by Doran to trim the margin to 71-68 with 10 seconds to go in regulation.

Daquan Sampson converted the first of two attempts from the stripe to seal Endicott's third win in a row.

The Lions concluded the contest with a field-goal percentage of 41.0% while draining five three-pointers on 17 attempts. The Gulls shot 38.2% from the floor and 27.6% from the perimeter.

Motroni paced the guests with 23 points while Sampson added 14 points and eight boards.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene hosts Wentworth December 6.