Men's Basketball Falls at the Buzzer to Endicott

BEVERLY, Mass. – Sophomore Billy Arsenault's (Lynnfield, Mass.) basket as time expired lifted the top-seeded Endicott College men's basketball team to a 63-62 win over fifth-seeded Wentworth Institute of Technology in the semifinal round of the 2020 Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

LEADING SCORERS:  Trey Carrier, 20; Kyle Henseler, 11
LEADING REBOUNDERS:  Stephen Azums, 9; Kevin Fernandez, 8
ASSIST LEADERS:  Stephen Azums, 4; Kevin Fernandez, 2

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• A slow start saw the two teams combine to go 4-for-21 from the floor and Wentworth trailed 7-4 after a pair of junior Isaiah Goodwin (Fall River, Mass.) free throws before scoring six straight points to take a 10-7 lead on three pointers from junior Kyle Henseler (Coventry, R.I.) and sophomore Noah Bice (Woodacre, Calif.). The Gulls responded with a 10-2 run, taking a 17-12 lead on a senior Keith Brown (Pelham, N.H) layup with 9:25 left. Senior Stephen Azums (Hyde Park, Mass.) and junior Trey Carrier (Wilton, N.H.) scored back-to-back baskets form the Leopards to cut the lead to one before junior Jordan Pettway (Bridgeport, Conn.) hit a three to push the lead to four.
• Endicott led by as many as six with six minutes left before an 8-2 run tied the game at 24-all on a three pointer from Bice with 3:45 left in the half. Brown knocked down a pair of free throws with 3:15 left to give the hosts a 26-24 lead and Azums cut the lead to one with one of two free throws with 1:21 left before Pettway and Brown made back-to-back baskets which gave Endicott a 30-25 lead at the break.
• Wentworth began the second half on a 9-2 run, taking a 34-32 lead on a basket from sophomore Kevin Fernandez (Lawrence, Mass.). The Gulls responded with a three from freshman Jalen Echevarria (Lynn, Mass.) but a junior Tyler Lennon (Atkinson, N.H.) layup and a three from Carrier pushed the Leopard lead to four (39-35) with 16:57 left.
• After a drought of nearly four minutes without either team scoring, junior Louis Ellis (Lynnfield, Mass.) hit a three to cut the lead to one. A free throw from Carrier made it a two-point game but Pettway hit two free throws to even the score. Henseler answered with a jumper to start an 8-0 run which was capped off by a jumper from Carrier with 8:23 left and gave the Black & Gold a 52-44 lead.
• The Gulls cut the lead to two on three occasions, including when Arsenault made a layup with 2:27 left. After the teams traded missed three pointers, a layup from Echevarria tied the score at 58-all with 1:18 left. On the next possession, Carrier hit a runner in the lane, giving Wentworth a 60-58 lead with 56.4 seconds left. Out of a time out, Brown converted a three-point play to give the Gulls a 61-60 lead with 45 seconds left. A layup from Fernandez gave Wentworth the lead back (62-61) with 30 seconds left.
• On the next possession, Endicott missed a three pointer and two consecutive Gull fouls put the Leopards on the line for a one-and-one with 9.4 seconds left. Brown grabbed the rebound off the miss and Endicott brought the ball into the frontcourt, where a timeout was called with four seconds left. The inbounds pass made its way to Arsenault, who beat the buzzer with a jumper in the lane.
• Carrier finished with a game-high 20 points, going 8-for-12 from the floor. Henseler added 11 points while Azums finished his storied career with seven points, nine rebounds, and four assists.
• Brown led all scorers with 22 points to go along with eight rebounds. Echevarria and Arsenault each finished with 11 points.

SERIES NOTES:

• Tonight marked the 42nd all-time meeting between the two programs with Endicott, winners of the last 10 meetings, holding a 32-10 series advantage. In the post-season, tonight was the sixth all-time meeting with Endicott leading, 5-1.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth finishes its season with a 16-11 record. The 16 wins are the most in a season under head coach Arlen Galloway. Endicott (19-7) will host second-seeded Nichols in Saturday's championship game.

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