Endicott jumped out to an early 10-5 lead in the first half thanks to a Samuel Evans (Philadelphia, PA/The Hyde School) free throw, but Wheaton returned the favor with seven consecutive points from junior Sean Kelly (Providence, RI/Wheeler School) and freshman Brent DiGiovanna (Hanover, MA/Hanover) to lead 12-10. The teams played nip-and-tuck for the next several minutes and experienced six lead changes with four ties the remainder of the half. Knotted at 25 points apiece, the Blue and White used a 7-1 run to take the biggest lead of the half at 32-26, as the Lyons eventually carried a 32-30 edge into the intermission.
Wheaton senior tri-captain Mike Stanton (Lynnfield, MA/Brewster Academy) put the Lyons in front 36-32 early in the second stanza, but the Gulls crept back into the game with an 8-4 run that ended on a Zach Ellis (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) three to tie the contest at 40-40. The Lyons ran their lead to as many as five midway through the second half, but Endicott responded to knot the game at 51-51.
After a series of lead changes, seven consecutive points by the Lyons gave the visitors a six-point advantage, but Endicott tied the contest again at 72-72. A late surge and 6-0 run gave the Gulls a four-point lead with just two seconds remaining in regulation, all but sewing up the victory for Endicott, but sophomore Brian Zukowski (Dracut, MA/Dracut) cut the deficit to three with a free throw before intentionally missing his second shot at the charity stripe. A friendly bounce gave the Blue and White possession with seven-tenths of a second remaining, allowing Stanton to drain a trey as the buzzer sounded to send the game to overtime.
Sparked by yet another Ellis three-pointer, the Gulls jetted to a five-point lead in the extra frame, but freshman Eric Johnston (South Windsor, CT/East Catholic) came up huge in the overtime and scored 10 of Wheaton's 11 points to edge Endicott in dramatic fashion. The win marks the third one or two-point decision between the two schools in the last four years, with the road team winning each of the last four contests.
The Lyons were led by Johnston's season-high 24 points (9-13 FG), while Kelly finished the game with 19 points, seven rebounds and four steals. Stanton collected 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Zukowski and senior tri-captain Mark Ledwell (Charlemont, MA/Mohawk Trail Regional) pitched in with 10 points apiece.
Ellis' 12-of-15 (.800) performance from the field, including an impressive 7-of-10 (.700) from three- point range, resulted in a game-high 32 points for Endicott, while sophomore Nemanja Marinkovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Second Baptist) finished the contest with a double-double performance in the form of 22 points and 14 rebounds. Junior Matt George (Dover, NH/Dover) recorded 11 points in the loss.
Wheaton will carry its back-to-back wins into New London, Connecticut on Tuesday, December 7, as the Lyons get set to face Connecticut College in a non-conference game at 7:00 p.m.
Newspaper Box Score Wheaton College vs Endicott College 12/4/04 2:00 p.m. at Beverly, Mass. At Beverly, Mass. WHEATON COLLEGE 89, ENDICOTT COLLEGE 87 WHEATON COLLEGE (4-2) Eric Johnston 9-13 6-8 24; Sean Kelly 7-15 2-3 19; Mike Stanton 5-18 4-5 15; Brian Zukowski 2-10 6-7 10; Mark Ledwell 4-11 2-4 10; James Greenslit 2-6 0-0 5; Brent DiGiovanna 2-4 1-2 5; Jake Otto 0-1 1-2 1; Joe Lee 0-0 0-0 0; Josean Vega 0-1 0-0 0; Justin Brown 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 31-81 22-31 89. ENDICOTT COLLEGE (2-1) Zach Ellis 12-15 1-1 32; Nemanja Marinkovic 8-21 5-6 22; Matt George 4-8 2-2 11; Sam Evans 2-5 5-7 9; Josh Oxton 2-6 1-2 5; Todd Burton 2-5 0-0 4; James Leveque 2-2 0-0 4; Gary Corbett 0-2 0-0 0; Carlos Nunez 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 32-67 14-18 87. Wheaton College............... 32 46 11 - 89 Endicott College.............. 30 48 9 - 87 3-point goals-Wheaton College 5-26 (Sean Kelly 3-8; James Greenslit 1-2; Mike Stanton 1-9; Justin Brown 0-1; Brian Zukowski 0-4; Eric Johnston 0-2), Endicott College 9-20 (Zach Ellis 7-10; Matt George 1-1; Nemanja Marinkovic 1-3; Gary Corbett 0-2; Josh Oxton 0-4). Fouled out--Wheaton College-Mike Stanton, Endicott College-Josh Oxton; Matt George. Rebounds-Wheaton College 42 (Mike Stanton 8), Endicott College 53 (Nemanja Marinkovic 14). Assists-Wheaton College 12 (Brian Zukowski 4), Endicott College 13 (Josh Oxton 4). Total fouls-Wheaton College 18, Endicott College 26. A-200