The trio combined to score 50 of the Gulls' 65 points, dished out 12 assists, pulled down 21 rebounds, had three steals and blocked two shots. Endicott will advance to the NCAA National Tournament for the third straight season and fourth time in the history of the school. The bracket will be selected Sunday evening and released Monday morning.
George (8-of-14 FG; 3-of-5 3-PT; 3-of-5 FT) was the ringleader of the three and was also the star of Endicott's third straight postseason title run, which ties the Endicott record for consecutive CCC championships (women's soccer and softball have also won three straight CCC titles). The senior, who averaged 23.7 points in the postseason, finished with a game-high 22 points to go along with five assists - also a game-best - two blocks and two steals.
Ellis (4-of-7 3-PT) picked up 12 points and three assists but fueled Endicott (19-9) in the second half by canning three straight three-pointers to help the hosts maintain their 10-point lead. Marinkovic dropped in 16 points, grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds and dished out four assists.
Andrew St. Clair (Pittsfield, ME/Maine Central Institute) led the Chargers (17-10) with 14 points and 11 rebounds while Colin Bray (Brookline, MA/New Hampton) had a team-high 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Matt Spanos (Newport, NH/Newport) was the only other Charger in double figures, putting home 13 points.
Endicott shot 53 percent from the field and 50 percent from long distance while CSC was limited to 35 percent from the field and just 14 percent from three-points land (3-of-21). The Gulls took care of the ball in the first half (6 turnovers) and led 33-22 at the break but the hosts turned the ball over 12 times in the final 20 minutes to help CSC stay within striking distance.
However, George, who played most of the second half with three fouls, and company, had an answer for every Charger surge. George converted a conventional three-point play midway through the opening half, turning a 15-9 lead into an 18-9 advantage. And when the lead dwindled to eight inside of three minutes to play in the half, George stuck a three to extend the cushion to 31-20. George also took two charging calls at critical junctures of the contest
The lead never dropped below seven points after the midway point of the second half and despite the Gulls' inability to convert free throws in the waning moments - Endicott made just 7-of-15 foul shots in the final 2:20 - the Gulls made every other play they had to in order to wrap up the championship. A big one was Mike Sullivan's (Marshfield, MA/Marshfield) offensive put-back off one of the missed free throws with under 30 seconds left to keep the gap at 8.
Sullivan, along with Endicott's other starter, Todd Burton (Lynn, MA/St. Mary's), netted and seven and six points, respectively.
Newspaper Box Score Colby-Sawyer College vs Endicott College 02/26/06 7:00 PM at Beverly, MA (MacDonald Gymnasium) At Beverly, MA (MacDonald Gymnasium) ENDICOTT COLLEGE 65, COLBY-SAWYER COLLEGE 56 COLBY-SAWYER COLLEGE (17-10) Collin Bray 7-10 0-0 15; Andrew St. Clair 5-17 4-4 14; Matt Spanos 6-8 0-1 13; Pat Kenny 2-5 2-3 7; Josh Carter 2-5 0-0 4; Duncan Szeliga 1-3 0-0 2; Nate Truncellito 0-3 1-2 1; James Thorpe 0-6 0-0 0; Tyler Fournier 0-5 0-0 0; Scott Butterworth 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 23-67 7-10 56. ENDICOTT COLLEGE (19-9) Matt George 8-14 3-5 22; Nemanja Marinkovic 6-10 4-6 16; Zach Ellis 4-8 0-2 12; Mike Sullivan 3-5 1-2 7; Todd Burton 2-2 2-7 6; Gary Corbett 1-5 0-0 2; Ross Stewart 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-45 10-22 65. Colby-Sawyer College 22 34 56 Endicott College 33 32 65 3-point goals-Colby-Sawyer College 3-21 (Pat Kenny 1-3; Matt Spanos 1-3; Collin Bray 1-1; Nate Truncellito 0-3; James Thorpe 0-4; Tyler Fournier 0-1; Scott Butterworth 0-4; Josh Carter 0-2), Endicott College 7-14 (Zach Ellis 4-7; Matt George 3-5; Gary Corbett 0-1; Ross Stewart 0-1). Fouled out--Colby-Sawyer College-None, Endicott College-Francis Mayi. Rebounds-Colby-Sawyer College 35 (Andrew St. Clair 11), Endicott College 39 (Nemanja Marinkovic 12). Assists-Colby-Sawyer College 8 (Tyler Fournier 2; Collin Bray 2; Andrew St. Clair 2), Endicott College 18 (Matt George 5). Total fouls-Colby-Sawyer College 20, Endicott College 17. A-975 No. 3 (North) Colby-Sawyer No. 2 (North) Endicott