BEVERLY, Mass. (February 20, 2016) - The Western New England University men's basketball team suffered a 72-59 setback at Endicott College this afternoon in its regular season finale at MacDonald Gymnasium.
 
Despite the loss, Western New England (8-17, 6-12 Commonwealth Coast Conference) still qualified for next week's CCC Tournament with Salve Regina's loss at the University of New England. The eighth-seeded Golden Bears will play at top-seeded Nichols College in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. Endicott (15-10, 12-6 CCC) ends the regular season as the fourth seed and will host Gordon.
 
After struggling to contain the Gulls' offense early on and facing a 45-24 deficit at halftime, the Golden Bears cut Endicott's lead to just 13 with 15:34 left in the game, but were unable to get closer. Western New England shot 39 percent (23-of-59) from the field, while Endicott posted a 45 percent (27-of-60) clip.
 
Freshman guard Mikey Pettway (Bridgeport, Conn.) scored a game-high 18 points for the Golden Bears, while juniors Mike Gelineau (Waltham, Mass.) and Daniel Silva (Seeknok, Mass.) added nine and eight, respectively. Senior center Zack Askew (Middletown, Conn.) finished with seven points, a game-high nine rebounds, and four blocks.
 
A balanced offensive effort for Endicott featured six players in double-figures, led by junior Daquan Sampson's (Germantown, Md.) 14 points off the bench. Juniors Kamahl Walker (Worcester, Mass.) and Max Motroni (West Warwick, R.I.) contributed 11 points each, while Taylor Rioux (Ivoryton, Conn.), Chris Light (Derry, N.H.) and Drew Sawyer (Norwalk, Conn.) all finished with ten.
 
The two teams traded baskets early, as the score was knotted 8-8 at the 16:59 mark in the first half. But, after a couple of dry possessions, the Golden Bears couldn't connect from the field, allowing the Gulls to go on a 20-5 run. Endicott was able to continue building its lead from there, closing out the first half ahead 45-24.
 
Silva drained a three-pointer to start the second half, which jumpstarted the Golden Bears' offense and allowed them to put together an 11-4 run, capped off with layup from senior Andre Joyner (Norwich, Conn.), who scored six points. However, the Gulls' swift shooting continued as they regained momentum and held on for the win.
 
Endicott out-rebounded Western New England 38-30, which resulted in 14 second-chance points, while the Golden Bears scored six. The Gulls also held a 36-22 advantage in points in the paint and a 26-17 edge in bench points.