Statistics

BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Endicott College did not score for more than three minutes down the stretch but managed to fend off the University of New England, 66-63, in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) men's basketball tilt on Tuesday night (Jan. 25) at Coach Beaudry's Court inside the Harold Alfond Forum.

The Gulls finished the opening half with eight of the last nine to gain the largest lead of the contest at 36-25, but the Nor'easters countered with 14 unanswered to begin the 2nd and jump ahead, 39-36. Alex Kravchuk recorded his first field goals of the game (2 three-pointers) during the run. UNE still maintained a 48-44 edge before Endicott put together a 12-2 stretch, going up for the final time (56-50) with 6:35 left to play.

A trey from Anthony Senesombath and two freebies by Kravchuk sliced the deficit to 58-57, but Billy Arseneault got a hoop plus one on EC's next trip to extend the margin. Moments later, Cameron Ray connected from downtown to make it 64-57 with 3:28 on the clock.

Kravchuk dropped in a jumper to keep the hosts within reach (64-59), and, after a couple empty possessions by the visitors, Avery DeBrito splashed a corner triple to inch UNE even closer (64-62) with 1:55 left. Another Endicott miss and Ric Castillo added a free throw for the Nor'easters (64-63) inside the final minute.

The Gulls continued to leave the door cracked with a miss, however UNE's look for the lead with 12 seconds remaining bounced away. With just four team fouls in the period to that point, the Nor'easters finally pushed Endicott into the bonus with 8.1 showing, and Arseneault calmly knocked down the 1-and-1. The hosts had two contested tries at the tie before the buzzer sounded, but couldn't get one to fall.

Ray hit 7-of-9 field goal attempts and finished with a game-high 19 points to guide the Gulls (10-4, 7-2 CCC). Arseneault added 12 points, Jalen Echevarria had 10, and Spencer Aronson netted eight. Stephen Fama collected 13 rebounds.

For the Nor'easters (3-15, 2-9 CCC), Kravchuk lead the way with 16 points and eight caroms. Senesombath matched a personal high with 14 points, DeBrito contributed 13, and Drake Gavin tossed in 10. Castillo shared the match-best of 13 rebounds, aiding UNE's 45-33 cushion on the boards.

The home squad narrowly out-shot their opponent by percentage, 39.7-37.1, but Endicott only committed nine fouls all night and out-scored UNE by six (12-6) at the charity stripe.

In the early going, a 10-0 run by the Gulls made it 20-10 midway through the 1st stanza. A quick five from James DeCrisantis sparked a 12-4 stretch for the Nor'easters to get back within two (24-22), before the visitors regained some separation at the break.

Kravchuk's point total advanced him two spots into 8th place in the combined scoring history of UNE, Westbrook College, and St. Francis College (1,508 career points), including past the most recent member of the top-13 on the list, Matt McManus '06 (1,506).

UNE is scheduled to hit the road for the first time in more than two weeks on Friday (moved from Saturday [on 1/26]), traveling to Salve Regina University.