BEVERLY, Mass. – A five-game winning streak for the Roger Williams University Men's Basketball team was snapped by Endicott College Thursday evening with a 64-67 loss to the Gulls.

 

The Hawks scored the first bucket of the game, and outside of Endicott tying the game at two and four, RWU maintained a lead up until the end the first half. Endicott's Gary Corbett (Danbury, Conn.) gave the Gulls some momentum into the break when he drained a three-pointer with three seconds left to put the Gulls up by one going into the second half.

 

Endicott stretched its lead out to nine over the opening four minutes, taking a 45-36 advantage at the 16-minute mark. The Hawks responded with an 11-0 run, capped off with a pair of free throws by Billy Barrett (Fairfield, Conn.) to regain the lead, making it 47-45 with 12:28 to play.

 

The Hawks held a slim 51-47 lead until a 7-2 spurt by the Gulls put Endicott back up by one. Endicott remained ahead despite the effort put forth by the Hawks to stay within striking distance. The Hawks found themselves down 59-60 with two minutes to go after a three-point play by Barrett.

 

Timely shooting by Endicott stretched the lead back to seven, as Tom Connor (Kittery, Maine) and Todd Burton (Lynn, Mass.) scored the next six points for the Gulls, while Roger Williams could not convert on the offensive end.

 

The door was still left open for the Hawks to send it to over time, as a pair of Travis O'Dell (Brunswick, Maine) pulled RWU within three. After Burton missed two free throws with 23 seconds left, the Hawks' chance to send the game into overtime were placed into the hands of Barrett. He put up a trey with nine seconds, but could not find the bottom of the net, as the Gulls escaped with the win.

 

Barrett led RWU with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Geoff Baranger (Fairfield, Conn.) scored 12 while O'Dell added eight points and three rebounds.

 

Burton and Connor were the leading scorers in the game, as the duo finished with 18 points apiece for Endicott.

 

Roger Williams (9-9, 5-1 TCCC) will look to start up a new winning streak Saturday when the Hawks host Colby-Sawyer College at 3:00 p.m. Endicott (8-10, 4-2 TCCC) will host Gordon College at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday as well.