MILTON, Mass. – The Curry College men's basketball team suffered an 89-75 setback to Eastern Nazarene College in their season finale at the Katz Gymnasium in Milton. The victory moves the Lions to 12-13 overall and 9-9 in the CCC while the loss puts the Colonels at 1-24 overall and 0-18 in league play.
Eastern Nazarene began the game on a 12-0 run that spanned over five minutes. Jared Thorpe-Johnson (Dorchester, Mass.) got Curry son the board at the 14:06 mark of the first half with two free throws.
Following the free throws the Colonels would pull to within six on a three by Dashawn Williams (New Haven, Conn.) the lead would be sent back up to nine on a layup by Corey Doran (Fairfield, Calif.).
The Colonels then went on a 9-0 run to tie the game at 20 with 8:24 remaining in the first half. The run started with a layup by Thorpe-Johnson a jump shot by Jaelen George-Bellitti (Cambridge, Mass.) and was capped off with two free throws by Kieran Carroll (Greenwich, Conn.)
The Lions would answer with a run of their own, reeling off six straight to reclaim the advantage. The deficit of the Colonels would be cut to one, thanks to a three by Thorpe-Johnson with four minutes to go in the first stanza.
After the lead was cut to just one Eastern Nazarene went on a 10-0 run to carry a 12 point lead into the locker room.
Following the intermission the lead for the Lions would reach double figures once again. The Colonels' deficit would reach 20 at the 15:17 mark on a free throw by Doran.
The deficit for Curry remained around the 20 for the majority of the second half as the Colonels were able to cut it to 17 a few times. Carroll hit two free throws at the 5:20 mark and then Brian Tavares (East Providence, R.I.) knocked down a free throw to trim it to 16.
Curry closed the game by outscoring the Lions 14-12 as Eastern Nazarene captured the game by a 89-75 final score.
Thorpe-Johnson paced the Colonels with 21 points on 6-for-13 shooting from the field, including 4-of-9 from three in 31 minutes. Carroll chipped in 15 while Ryan Beatty (Rochester, Mass.) was the only other starter in double figures with 10. Williams had a solid game off the bench, registering 12 points on four threes in 17 minutes.
Christian Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) and Dora led the Lions and paced all scorers with 26 apiece. David Eddings (Endicott, N.Y.) tallied 10 points while Anthony Petrilli (Santa Clarita, Calif.) and TJ Vazquez (Weymouth, Mass.) chipped in seven and six, respectively.
The Lions shot 55% from the field, compared to 47.8 from the Colonels. Curry held the edge in three point shooting as they knocked down 40% of their opportunities. The teams were even at the charity stripe, both converting on 66.7%. Eastern Nazarene had the advantage in rebounding, assists, turnovers, points off turnovers, second chance points and points in the paint. The Colonels' bench outscored the Lions, 29-17.
Eastern Nazarene has drawn the sixth seed for the upcoming CCC Tournament and will travel to third-seeded Roger Williams on Tues. Feb. 21 for a 7:30 p.m. tip. The loss ends the season for Curry.
