BY JASON POMBO // Jan. 28, 2018 //

The Curry College men’s basketball team fell to the Endicott College on Saturday, 72-62, in a hard-fought battle where free throws proved to be the difference.

The Gulls came out flocking as they raced out to an early 11-2 run. Such an adversity perhaps would have caused previous Colonel teams to give up, this year’s bunch battled back in the first half, entering halftime only down by seven.

As the second half began, both teams went back-and- forth. The Colonels were able to tie the game at 45, with 9:30 remaining in the game. However, Endicott did not go away as they pulled away late to beat Curry with a final score of 72-62.

The game should have been a bit closer with the two teams shooting nearly identically from the field with the Colonels actually shooting 11% better from the arc, and with the Gulls being out-rebounded, 42-41.

But the game was decided at the free throw line.  The Gulls were sent to the line for 31 shots and converted 18 of those.  The Colonels were only able to muster 10 shots from the line and made eight of them.  The 10 point discrepancy in the free throws just so happened to be the amount the Colonels lost by.

Despite the result, Colonels coach Matt LeVangie was pleased with the team’s overall
performance.

“I think we played really… we could have packed it in, but our guys held their own,” said
LeVangie.  “I take a lot of positives away from this game, I think we’re taking giant steps.”

Sophomore guard Jared Thorpe-Johnson led the Colonels with 15 points on 23 minutes.

But despite the Colonels’ defensive efforts, they couldn’t contain sophomore guard Keith Brown, who led the game in scoring with 21 points in 35 minutes while also contributing nine rebounds for the Gulls.

The loss marks their 17th consecutive loss and drops the Colonels to 1-18 on the year.  Next up is a trip to Nichols on Tuesday, Jan. 30.  Curry will have a lot of work to do as they take on the top-ranked Bison who enter Tuesday’s game with a 16-3 record.

Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. in Dudley, Mass.