Box Score

BEVERLY, Mass. -- The University of New England men's basketball squad saw its 17-point cushion disappear over an 11-minute stretch in the second half but never fell behind and came away with a 78-76 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) road victory against Endicott College on Thursday (Jan. 17) at MacDonald Gymnasium.

Though the Nor'easters (3-12, 2-6 CCC) fell behind, 10-0, in the initial 2:38 of the contest, a three-pointer by first-year Devin Thompson (Winthrop, Mass.) with 8:32 to go in the opening stanza gave the visitors a 20-18 edge. At no point during the remainder of the night did UNE trail on the scoreboard.

The margin was still two (28-26) with a little over five minutes to go in the stanza, but UNE doubled-up the Gulls (14-7) heading into halftime to assume a 42-33 edge. Big Blue, which committed just three turnovers in the period, overcame the 50 percent shooting from Endicott with an 11-2 margin in points-off-turnovers.

Two more treys by Thompson and a lay-up from sophomore Jake Abel (Fairfield, Calif.) extended the gap right out of the second-half restart to its largest point, 50-33. However, within five minutes the difference was cut down to four (54-50). Lance Greene tallied eight of Endicott's points during the spurt.

The Gulls (7-8, 2-6 CCC) tied things at 63-63 and 65-65, but Thompson's fifth long-range basket of the game and an almost immediate steal by junior Joshua Butler (Nantucket, Mass.) led to a fast-break dunk and a 70-65 advantage with 6:01 on the clock.

Greene trimmed the Endicott deficit to one (70-69) at the 4:35 mark, but the hosts could not get any closer. Thompson, Butler, and junior Charles Fenner III (Bronx, N.Y.) each cashed in on a pair of free throws the rest of the way to help preserve the lead.

Thompson notched a season-best and game-high 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the floor and makes on half of his 10 attempts from deep. Fenner III added 17, while Butler finished with 14 points to go with a game-high eight rebounds and three steals.

The Nor'easters connected on a season-high 51.9 percent (28-for-54) of their field goal tries and 44.4 percent (8 of 18) from beyond the arc.

The Gulls -- who shot 50.9 percent (28 of 55) in the game and scored 16 second-half points from UNE turnovers -- were paced by John Henault with 24 points. Andre Makris chipped in with 21 points, and the duo paired to make 18 of the 30 shots they attempted. Greene ended with 14 points, six boards, and four steals.

Big Blue returns home to face Western New England University of Saturday (1 p.m.). Endicott heads to Eastern Nazarene College the same day.