Men's Basketball Goes Down to the Wire Against Endicott

BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore Spencer Aronson (Holliston, Mass.) came off the bench to score 17 points as the Endicott College men's basketball team held on for a 63-62 win over Wentworth Institute of Technology in Commonwealth Coast Conference action Monday night.

With the win the Gulls improve to 7-4 overall and 4-2 in CCC play while the Leopards fall to 5-7 (2-4).

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

LEADING SCORERS:  Kevin Fernandez, 22; Kyle Henseler, 14; Trey Carrier, 12
LEADING REBOUNDERS:  Carrier, 13; Fernandez, 7; Jack Schaake, 6
ASSIST LEADERS:  Henseler, 3

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Wentworth opened the game with a layup from junior Jack Schaake (Hampton, N.H.) nearly two minutes into the game. Endicott scored five straight points, coming off a layup from senior Cameron Ray (Dover, N.H.) and a three pointer from junior Jalen Echevarria (Lynn, Mass.) to take a 5-2 lead. The teams traded baskets before senior Kyle Henseler (Coventry, R.I.) hit a three to tie the game.
• The Gulls reclaimed the lead with four straight points and found themselves holding a four-point (20-16) lead with 9:19 left after a layup from senior Dillon Grant (Dennis, Mass.). A minute and 42 seconds later, Aronson hit a three to push the lead to seven before a junior Thomas Hacker (Averill Park, N.Y.) putback made it 23-18. Graduate student Stephen Fama (Lynnfield, Mass.) followed with a layup and Aronson hit a three with 6:03 left to give Endicott its largest lead of the game at 28-18.
• Wentworth whittled the lead down to as few as four (30-26) after a transition layup from Hacker, however, the Gulls built their lead to eight on two occasions, including when senior Billy Arsenault (Lynnfield, Mass.) scored the final points of the half, coming on a layup with 1:16 left in the frame.
• After Henseler opened the second half with a jumper, Ray followed with a three to give Endicott a nine-point lead. From there, the Black & Gold went on a 9-0 run and tied the game on a Henseler three. During the run, senior Kevin Fernandez (Lawrence, Mass.) had four points while Henseler had the last five.
• The teams traded baskets and created three more ties, with Fernandez tying the game at 45-all with a jumper with 13:05 left to play. Seven straight points gave the visitors a 52-45 lead with 9:44 left, and, after a layup from senior Trey Carrier (Wilton, N.H.), Aronson hit a three to put Endicott ahead, 55-47.
• Wentworth brought the lead down to three on a pair of occasions, including when Fernandez hit two free throws with 4:30 left. Fama put home a tip-in off his missed layup to increase the lead to five with 3:08 left but Carrier made a layup with 1:51 left and Fernandez followed with a layup of his own with 44 seconds left, bringing the hosts within one.
• With 18 seconds left, the Gulls turned the ball over as Henseler came up with a steal, however, Wentworth was unable to go ahead and the rebound went to the Gulls after it was tipped out of bounds. With 5.6 seconds remaining, Ray missed the front end of the one-and-one, giving the hosts the chance for the win. The Leopards got the ball into the frontcourt but were unable to get a shot off before time expired.
• Arsenault finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, and four assists while Echevarria added 11 points, six rounds, and four steals.
• Fernandez led all scorers with 22 points to go along with seven rebounds. Henseler scored 14 points, had three assists, and two steals, and Carrier recorded a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. The Leopards held the Gulls to 30.8 percent from the floor in the second half.

SERIES NOTES:

• Tonight marked the 43rd all-time meeting between the two teams. Endicott holds a 33-10 all-time advantage.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth is at the University of New England Wednesday night.

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