Men’s Basketball Stymied at Endicott Saturday

BEVERLY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College men's basketball team dropped an 85-45 decision at Endicott Saturday afternoon.

The Lions sink to 7-14 on the year and 3-11 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference with the setback. The Gulls improve to 15-6 overall and 10-4 in league play with the win.

David Lopez (Miami, Fla.) netted nine points and gathered six rebounds on the day while Josh Rice (Hanson, Mass.) also poured in nine points. Robbion Harris (Steilacoom, Wash.) finished with five points off the bench. Cody Cook (Yarmouth, Maine), Nathan Vazquez (Weymouth, Mass.), and Jacob Waldroop (Newland, N.C.) all notched four points.

The home team darted out to a 27-0 lead midway through the first half. Endicott unleashed a barrage of three-pointers in the opening eight minutes, connecting on 7-of-11 from downtown, led by Matt McDevitt with five treys.

After the visitors got on the board with a free throw by Lopez, the Gulls widened the gap to 31-1 with 8:16 left to play in the opening frame.

Endicott held a 48-16 advantage at the half after shooting 51.7% from the floor and 50% from behind the arc in the first half. Eastern Nazarene was limited to just 18.5% shooting from the field in the opening 20 minutes of action.

Lopez scored nine points and grabbed five rebounds in the first frame while Cook, Harris, and Nathan Vazquez each chipped in with a pair of points.

The Gulls maintained their commanding lead throughout the second half en route to claiming their third-consecutive win.

The Lions concluded the contest with a field-goal percentage of 26.8% while mustering a three-point shooting percentage of 15.8%. Endicott shot 49.2% from the floor on the afternoon and 47.2% from behind the arc.

Looking ahead, Eastern Nazarene returns home to tangle with Roger Williams February 7.