Gulls fall 90-80 to Eastern Nazarene in TCCC season opener

Boxscore

Beverly, Mass. – Twenty-five points from Eastern Nazarene guard John Flakes Jr. (Dorchester, Mass.) lifted the Lions to a 90-80 road win over Endicott in The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) season opener Saturday afternoon. 

Flakes was complemented by shooting guard Max Barbosa (Dorchester, Mass.) and point guard DeAngelo Alston (Columbia, S.C.) who added 21 and 19 points each as the Lions shot 52.4% from the floor as a team. Eastern Nazarene (5-7, 1-0 TCCC) was also effective from long range, hitting 9-of-21 (42.9%) three-point attempts, and from the free throw line, sinking 15-of-18 (83.3%) attempts. 

The Gulls (7-5, 0-1 TCCC) had four players in double figure with junior Aaron Karkow (Uncasville, Conn.) and sophomore Lance Greene (Dorchester, Mass.) tying with a team-high 19 points. Greene added five rebounds, four assists and three steals to his totals while Karkow tacked on four rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal. Endicott’s big man Erik Callo (Southington, Conn.) impressed with an overall line of 16 points and 13 rebounds, including on the offensive glass. He was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line. Freshman Lachlan Magee (Melbourne, Australia) finished with 10 points, his sixth straight game with double digit points. 

The Gulls and Lions battled through an up-tempo style first half as the two teams combined to score 96 points in the opening stanza with Eastern Nazarene claiming a 49-47 advantage at the break. Early in the half, however, Endicott looked poised with a 20-10 lead just six minutes into the game. Endicott pushed the lead to 11 points at 34-23 later in the half before Eastern Nazarene executed a 15-5 run to pull within one point of the home team. The Lions were finally able to tie the game at 47-47 after a CJ Gonzales (Fall River, Mass.) jumper and eventually took the two-point lead on free throws by Max Barbosa. 

In the second half, Eastern Nazarene maintained their momentum by scoring 13 of the second half’s 15 points and took a 62-49 advantage with 15:36 on the clock. The 13-2 run was capped off by a layup and free throw for John Flakes Jr. following a foul. Over the next 3:11, the Blue and Green responded with a 14-2 run thanks in part to eight points from Aaron Karkow. Endicott eventually regained the lead 73-72 after an Erik Callo layup in the paint. The lead was short-lived, however, as a Barbosa fast-break layup put the visitors ahead for good at 78-77 with 3:14 left in the regulation. Eastern Nazarene finished the game strong hitting 5-of-6 free throw attempts and making a couple of buckets, including a crucial three-point make by Aaron Johnson (Boston, Mass.).  Johnson finished with 10 points in the game. 

Gulls freshman guard Jordan Lewis (Windsor, Conn.) had six first half assists. Eastern Nazarene’s Barbosa added seven rebounds and six assists to his 21-point effort while his teammate Alston recorded four dimes and three steals to go with 19 points.

Endicott outscored the opponent 25-12 in second chance points because of 20 offensive rebounds. Eastern Nazarene’s bench outscored Endicott’s 23-14.

The Gulls look to get back in the win column on Tuesday, January 11 as they travel to TCCC foe Nichols College for a 7:30 pm game. The Lions host Wentworth Institute on the same night at 8:00 pm in conference action.