Endicott Rallies Past Western New England with Second Half Run, 69-59

Pettway paces Golden Bears with game-high 20 points

BEVERLY, Mass. (January 9, 2018) – Endicott College used an 18-0 run early in the second half to take control on its way to a 69-59 victory over Western New England University on Tuesday evening in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) men's basketball action at MacDonald Gymnasium. 

Top Performers
• Coming off a career-high 38-point performance in Western New England's win at Nichols on Saturday, junior guard Mikey Pettway (Bridgeport, Conn.) again led the Golden Bears with a game-high 20 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line to go with eight rebounds, four assists and two steals.
• Sophomore guard Mike McGuire (Garden City, N.Y.) was also in double figures with 12 points, five rebounds and one assist, while freshman Alex Sikorski (Rocky Hill, Conn.) chipped in with six points, seven rebounds, one assist and one steal in 19 minutes off the bench.

• Junior forward Vinny Clifford (Danvers, Mass.) led Endicott's second half surge, scoring 15 of his team-high 17 points over the final 20 minutes of play.
• Juniors Joe Shehadi (Dorset, Vt.) and Nick Thibeault (Gorham, Maine) contributed ten points each to the Gulls' balanced offensive performance.

Game Review
Western New England, which led 31-26 at halftime, increased its advantage to nine (37-28) when Pettway sank a pair of free throws 1:30 into the second half. Shehadi knocked down a three-pointer 15 seconds later, however, sparking Endicott's 18-0 run over the next eight minutes. Clifford capped the run with another triple as the Gulls established a 46-37 cushion with ten minutes remaining.

The Golden Bears were able to cut their deficit to five on a couple of occasions, but both times Endicott responded with a basket. The Gulls eventually stretched their lead back into double figures and held their largest advantage of 16 (63-47) on a Shehadi three-pointer with 3:13 on the clock, before claiming a ten-point triumph.

Western New England controlled the early part of the contest, as the Golden Bears raced out to a 17-5 lead over the first seven minutes of the first half. Endicott battled back to tie the score at 24, but Western New England outscored the Gulls 7-2 the rest of the way to take a five-point lead at the break.

Notes
• Western New England shot just 25 percent (9-of-36) in the second half after connecting at a 42.9 percent (12-of-29) rate in the first half. Endicott shot 28.1 percent (9-of-32) in the first half and 46.4 percent (13-of-28) in the second.
• The Golden Bears held a 44-43 edge in the rebounding battle.
• Pettway has scored 20+ points in five straight contests. 

Up Next
Western New England (5-6, 2-3 CCC) returns home to host Curry on Thursday, while Endicott (9-3, 4-1 CCC) travels to Gordon.