Endicott Squeaks Past Men's Basketball

BOSTON, Mass. – Graduate student Ty Vitko (Dover, N.H.) hit a pair of free throws with six seconds left to lift the Endicott College men's basketball team over Wentworth Institute of Technology, 67-66, in Commonwealth Coast Conference action Saturday afternoon.

With the win the Gulls improve to 11-6 overall and 6-3 in CCC play while the Leopards stand at 7-10 (3-6).

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Wentworth raced out to a 10-4 lead in the first four and a half minutes of the contest, thanks in part to junior Jack Connell's (Walpole, Mass.) two three pointers. A 6-2 spurt by Endicott brought the Gulls to within two (12-10) after a sophomore Matt Boen (Mansfield, Mass.) three pointer with 12:10 left. Sophomore Russell Dolabany (Westwood, Mass.) answered with a three of his own, which started a 13-0 run and put the hosts ahead, 25-10, after junior Niko Rosich (Chicago, Ill.) hit a three with 8:50 left.
• Endicott pulled to within 11 (30-19) with 4:33 left after a jumper from sophomore Jeff Hill (Lynn, Mass.). Dolabany capped off a 9-3 run with three with 2:30 left, pushing the lead to 17 (39-22). Vitko and Boen each made threes – sandwiched around a Boen three – setting the score at 42-28 with 45 seconds left. Connell finished the half with a three, giving the hosts a 45-28 lead. Through the first 20 minutes, Wentworth shot 58.6 percent and held Endicott to 31.3 percent.
• The Gulls opened the second half on an 11-6 spurt which cut the lead to 12 (51-39). Connell's jumper with just over 13 minutes left gave Wentworth a 53-39 lead before an 11-2 run pulled Endicott to within five (55-50) with nine minutes left.
• After Connell hit two free throws, graduate student Cam Homsey (Lawrence, Mass.) made a jumper and a three pointer to make it a two-point (57-55) game with 6:39 left and his three with 5:14 left knotted the game at 59-all. Senior Sam Goy (Derry, N.H.) gave the Black & Gold the lead back with a jumper but a three from Vitko and a Hill jumper put the Gulls on top, 64-61 with 4:03 to play.
• Three free throws; one by junior Tyler Stewart (East Taunton, Mass.) and two from Connell knotted the game at 64-all. Hill hit one of two free throws with 1:34 left, putting the Gulls on top, 65-64. After both teams missed three pointers, freshman Sean Racette (Trumbull, Conn.) was fouled and hit two free throws, putting the hosts on top, 66-65, with 54 seconds remaining.
• On the ensuing possession, Endicott missed a jumper and, after getting the offensive rebound, missed a three pointer. An offensive foul gave Wentworth the ball back, however, a turnover with 10 seconds left made it Endicott's possession. Vitko was fouled driving to the basket and hit both free throws. Connell had one last gasp at the buzzer to win the game, however, his three fell just short.
• Four Endicott student-athletes scored in double figures, with Vitko leading the way with 14.
• Connell's 24 points led for Leopard student-athletes in double figures, with Dolabany scoring 15, Stewart adding 11 (to go along with nine rebounds), and Goy scoring 10.

ALL-TIME SERIES:

• Today was the 47th all-time meeting between the two teams.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth hosts Curry on Tuesday at 5:00 p.m.

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