Men’s Basketball Downs Eastern Nazarene In Season Opener, 95-81

BEVERLY, Mass. – Behind a game-high 49 points from Keith Brown (Pelham, N.H.), the Endicott men's basketball team defeated Eastern Nazarene, 95-81, on Monday night at MacDonald Gymnasium.

Brown shot 14-for-22 from the floor, 9-of-13 from long distance, and 12-of-14 at the free throw line to compile the fourth 40-plus point game of his career. Brown, who fell one three-pointer shy of tying his program record for made treys, also added four rebounds (all defensive), two blocks, and a steal to his stat line in the win.

The Gulls also saw Matt McDevitt (Cumberland, Maine) flirt with a triple-double (14 points, six rebounds, seven assists) and Vinny Clifford (Danvers, Mass.) contribute 10 points and four assists to round out the highlights.

Endicott nearly led tonight's contest wire-to-wire as the game only featured one tied score (3-3, 18:29, first half) and one lead change (4-3, 17:51, first half). The Gulls ballooned their advantage to as many as 22 points at the 9:14 mark of the first half on a Brown three-pointer (37-15 score, 33-12 run) and never allowed Eastern Nazarene to cut its deficit to less than nine points for the remainder of the matchup.

The Lions did bring the game under a 10-point deficit six times after trailing 37-15, however, Endicott held off Eastern Nazarene's final comeback bid with 3:43 remaining (81-72) with a 13-7 run (94-79, 1:16 remaining). All 13 points scored by the Gulls came from Brown down the stretch.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Endicott is 24-10 all-time against Eastern Nazarene (16-5 at home).
• The Gulls have won six in a row versus the Lions.
• Brown's last two season-opening games have included 30-plus point games (38 PTS vs. Regis, 11/18/17).
• Endicott has won its last seven season openers dating back to the 2012-13 campaign. During that span, Endicott has won by an average of 18.1 points per game.
• The Gulls' bench outscored Eastern Nazarene, 26-12.
• Griffin Curtis (Salem, N.H.) finished second off the bench behind Clifford with eight points (3-3 FG, 1-1 3PT, 1-2 FT), one rebound, two assists, and a steal.
• Endicott led for 37:42 in the contest.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (1-0) travels to No. 5 nationally ranked MIT on Thursday, November 15 at 7 PM. Eastern Nazarene (0-1) hosts Maine Maritime on Thursday at 7 PM. 

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(Photo Credit - Nick Grace)