Men’s Basketball Escapes Endicott in CCC Quarterfinals, 75-73

BOSTON – In one of the most electric environments that Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court has seen in nearly two years, Suffolk men's basketball put together an instant classic as the fourth-seeded Rams edged fifth seed Endicott, 75-73, in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Quarterfinals Tuesday night. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 75 | Endicott 73
RECORDS: Suffolk (16-9) | Endicott (13-11)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a hoop-for-hoop affair in the first three minutes until Nate Hale sparked a 12-2 Suffolk scoring stretch. That rally gave the host an 18-9 lead that caused Endicott into a timeout at the 13:41 minute mark.   

The blue-and-gold maintain a multi-possession margin, 27-19, when the Rams used their first timeout of the night with 7:21 remaining before half time. The Gulls got the distance down to five, twice, before the Rams buried three triples in row. The hoops from 3-point land came from Aidan Sullivan, Conor Creane and Hale. That shooting show extended Suffolk's advantage to 14, 38-24, at the 4:19 mark. 

Endicott benefitted from the Rams getting in foul trouble in the final minute of the opening stanza and cut the gap back to single digits, 42-33, as the teams headed to the locker room.  

To the start the second it appeared as though the Gulls took a page out of the Looney Tunes book and drank "Michael's Secret Stuff" to outscore the Rams, 13-4, in the first four minutes to even the playing field at 46-all.  

Jeff Juron took a timeout to calm his squad down. The game turned more even keel out of the huddle, however, the Gulls grabbed the go ahead and hung onto it, 52-50, at the midway point of the second stanza.  when the teams headed to their benches for another blue-and-gold timeout.  

The teams headed to their benches for another 30-second and this time it paid off for Suffolk. Members of the Rams' freshmen class,Keenan Robertson and Jake Gomez, took over to put the host ahead, 58-54. Sullivan got into the conversation with a traditional three-point play and a turner around jumper to push the margin to seven, 63-56, with 7:04 left on the clock.  

The storyline of runs continued, this time for Endicott as the visitor's compiled a 15-2 stretch. Following that spurt, Suffolk faced its largest deficit of the evening, 71-65, with 3:43 to go.  

A comeback came for the Rams behind hoops from Cole LeVangie and Hale and a crucial set of freebies from Wililam Rowe.  

A new game stood at 71-all at the 1:42 mark before John Gates made Smith Court ecstatic 42 seconds later. The junior buried a baseline 3-pointer to put the Rams ahead, 74-71. The Gulls responded with a lay-up from Jalen Echevarria to make things interesting.  

As time ticked off, Suffolk capitalized on an offensive board that ended with a trip to the charity stripe for Sullivan. The junior botched his two free throws, which gave the Gulls the ball back with 23 seconds to go.  

Endicott had two chances to take the lead, both on lay-ups. Neither attempt found the bottom of the net with the second landing in Robertson's hands. The Rams' rookie was fouled almost immediately and had the chance to seal the win at the line with 1.9 seconds lingering. He did just that as he swished the first and clanked the second off the rim, which did not give the Gulls enough time for a hail mary despite Billy Arseanutl's half-court try when the buzzer sounded.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Sullivan's 17-point, 11-rebound double-double was crucial in the victory. The junior shot 7-for-13 from the floor and added three assists to the offense. 
• Hale contributed 20 points to lead Suffolk's scoring. 
• Robertson's all-around night consisted of nine points, six caroms and one helper. 
• Gomez was huge off the bench with eight points, five boards, three blocks, one assist and one steal.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk competed in the CCC playoffs for the first time. 
• Suffolk hosted a playoff game for the first time since 2019, second time under Juron's guidance. 
• The Rams made their 17th overall conference post season trip and ninth straight league tournament appearance. 
• The blue-and-gold played in the 4 vs. 5 game for the first time since 2013 and second time overall as the fourth seed. 
• The Rams are in a conference tournament as the fourth seed for the second time in program history, first since 2004. 
• The Ram moved to 1-1 when playing in the postseason as the fourth seed.
• The blue-and-gold moved to 3-2 when playing on its home hardwood in a conference tournament.  
• Suffolk secured a postseason win on its home court for the first time since Feb. 20, 2002 when the Rams bested Emmanuel, 89-61, in the GNAC Quarterfinals. 
• The Rams move onto the league semifinals for the fifth time in program history, first since 2018-19. 
• Suffolk improved to 2-5 in the postseason in the Juron era. 
• The Rams are now 6-4 this season when playing in a doubleheader with the women's team. 
• Suffolk remains unbeaten in Boston against Endicott, 3-0. 
• The Rams kept the win-loss see-saw with the Gulls going and leveled the all-time playing field at 3-3. 
• Sullivan produced his first collegiate double-double. 
• Sullivan grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds. 
• Gomez swatted a personal-best three blocks.  

POST-GAME PIC
  

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk punched its ticket to the CCC semis where it will take the winner of the quarterfinal matchup between top seed Nichols and ninth seed Wentworth.