BOSTON – After battling back from double digits to draw even in the closing minutes, Suffolk men's basketball could not get over the final hurdle as No. 14 Endicott closed the game on a late surge to claim a 74-69 Conference of New England (CNE) victory on Tuesday evening at Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court.

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 69 | Endicott 74
RECORDS: Suffolk (14-10, 9-5 CNE) | (23-1, 15-0 CNE)  

HOW IT HAPPENED

• James Jones and Harrison Neil sparked Suffolk early, combining for eight of the Rams' first 10 points to take a 10-9 lead at the 11:35 mark.
• A fadeaway jumper from Hatcher Nordquist gave Suffolk an 18-14 edge before a 14-2 Endicott run pushed the Gulls to their largest first-half lead at 28-20. Four straight points from Greg Keane pulled Suffolk within six at the break, 32-26.
• Suffolk made several early pushes in the second half but could not cut the deficit to one possession, as Endicott knocked down five three-pointers in the opening eight minutes to maintain a 56-45 lead with 11:21 remaining.
• Nordquist hit Suffolk's first triple of the game with 9:29 left in regulation, followed by a jumper from Keane to trim the deficit to 56-50 at the 8:10 mark.
• The teams traded baskets down the stretch before Suffolk used triples from Jones and Nordquist to tie the game at 64-64 with 3:47 to play.
• Endicott quickly reclaimed a four-point advantage and strung together three straight defensive stops to lead 70-66 with 1:53 remaining.
• Declan Davis cut the deficit to one with a trey, but Elijah Kinney sealed it with a putback lay-in and an isolation mid-range jumper as the Gulls held on for a 74-69 victory.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Keane led all Rams with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting and had a block and a steal each.
• Jones was an efficient 6-of-10 from the floor for 13 points and grabbed seven boards.
• Nordquist added 12 points and three steals defensively.
• Neil chipped in 11 points and four rebounds. 

NOTEWORTHY

• Keane dropped a career-high 17 points.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk closes out the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 21, with a road matchup at Gordon. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.