Such is the case with Endicott College and Gordon College. The Scots utilized the home-court advantage to perfection, scoring the first 13 points of the game in a huge 72-67 Commonwealth Coast Conference victory Tuesday night at the Bennett Center.
The win lifts the Fighting Scots to 15-3 and 8-1 - their only loss in conference was at Endicott - in the CCC tied for first place in the CCC North Division with the Gulls, who stand 11-7 overall and (8-1 in the CCC).
Gordon was unconscious from beyond the arc, shooting 75 percent in the first half and 10-of-18 from long range in the game. Gordon's John Marstaller (Naples, ME) was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field for a first-half best nine points. He finished with 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting with five rebounds, two blocks and a steal, while John Beebe (Clive, IA), Mark Beebe (Clive, IA) and Michael Herr (Lampeter, PA) each added six points in the first. Herr wound up with 13 points and nine boards, while John Beebe ended with seven points.
Endicott junior forward Nemanja Marinkovic (Belgrade, Serbia & Montenegro/Second Baptist School, TX) led all scorers with 21 points and a game-high 11 rebounds to accompany a steal and a block. Gary Corbett (Danbury, CT/Danbury) was the only other Gull in double figures, finishing with 12 points, converting 3-of-4 from three-point land.
The Scots led by as many as 17 (20-3) with 12:00 remaining in the first. And as the lead bubbled to 31-15, the hosts were shooting a ridiculous 83 percent, including 75 percent from beyond the three-point line.
Endicott senior forward Zach Ellis (Wesford Academy, Westford) stemmed the tide as the half came to a close, canning consecutive treys to cut the deficit to 14 at intermission (44-30) at the break. He had eight points and three assists in the game.
The lead hovered around 18 points in the second half until George and freshman Francis Mayi (Lawrence, MA/Lawrence), who collected three points and three rebounds, hit consecutive buckets, dropping the lead to 56-43 with 12:58 remaining in regulation.
Gulls' head coach Chris Millette used his final timeout with 3:29 to play as the Gordon cushion stood at 62-51.
Endicott sophomore guard Todd Burton (Lynn, MA/St. Mary's) hit a runner in the lane, dropping the lead to 63-55 made things interesting late, knocking down two consecutive three's with under a minute to play but Gordon made their foul shots down the stretch.
Endicott, which was looking to win its eighth game in nine attempts, will host New England College Thursday night (6) while the Scots travel to Anna Maria College (8).
Newspaper Box Score Endicott College vs Gordon College 1/31/06 8pm at Gordon At Gordon GORDON COLLEGE 72, ENDICOTT COLLEGE 67 ENDICOTT COLLEGE (11-6) Nemanja Marinkovic 9-16 3-5 21; Gary Corbett 3-5 3-4 12; Matt George 3-11 3-6 9; Mike Sullivan 3-4 2-2 8; Zach Ellis 3-8 0-0 8; Todd Burton 3-5 0-2 6; Francis Mayi 1-2 1-2 3; JM Ramsey 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-52 12-21 67. GORDON COLLEGE (14-3) Jon Marstaller 7-8 2-2 17; Michael Herr 4-9 2-3 13; Justin Kaufman 3-8 4-6 11; Aaron Vogelzang 2-6 5-8 9; John Beebe 2-5 1-2 7; Mark Beebe 2-2 0-0 6; Tim DeLuca 2-4 0-0 5; M. Schnackenberg 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 24-45 14-21 72. Endicott College 30 37 67 Gordon College 44 28 72 3-point goals-Endicott College 5-14 (Gary Corbett 3-4; Zach Ellis 2-5; Matt George 0-5), Gordon College 10-18 (Michael Herr 3-7; Mark Beebe 2-2; John Beebe 2-3; Justin Kaufman 1-4; Jon Marstaller 1-1; Tim DeLuca 1-1). Fouled out--Endicott College-Todd Burton, Gordon College-None. Rebounds-Endicott College 33 (Nemanja Marinkovic 11), Gordon College 27 (Michael Herr 9). Assists-Endicott College 16 (Matt George 8), Gordon College 15 (John Beebe 4). Total fouls-Endicott College 19, Gordon College 19.