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FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE |
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November 17,
2006
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Rhode Island College Men’s Basketball Score Report |
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Medford, MA |
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1 |
2 |
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Final |
Rhode Island College (1-0)
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33
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40
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73
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Endicott (0-1)
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29
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30
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59
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Tirrell Hill’s Career-High 19 Points Lift RIC Past Endicott, 79-53
Anchormen Advance To Play Tufts University |
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Medford, MA—Rhode Island College pulled away from Endicott College
in the second half for a 73-59 victory in the first round of the Tufts
University Tip-Off Tournament on Friday night at Cousens Gym.
Sophomore guard Tirrell Hill (Bronx, NY) led the Anchormen with
a career-high 19 points. |
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Endicott would gain its only lead of the game with the opening basket
by senior co-captain Mike Sullivan (Marshfield, MA). A
three-pointer by Hill on RIC’s next trip down the court gave them the
lead for good, but it was a close contest into the second half. |
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Rhode Island College led 33-29 at the break, with Hill’s 10 points
leading the way. Eighteen turnovers by Endicott helped the Anchormen,
who shot just 33.3 percent (12-for-36) in the first 20 minutes. Junior
Todd Burton (Lynn, MA) led the Gulls with 10 points at the
break. |
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Into
the second half, Endicott was within two points at 40-38 when Sullivan
hit a jumper at 16:34. However, the Anchormen scored 10 of the next 12
points to lead 50-40 on a lay-up by senior tri-captain Brian Stanko
(Swansea, MA) at 12:23. He also had a three-pointer during the
spurt. |
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The
Gulls were able to chip the lead back to single-digits twice within
next minute, but an 8-0 run by RIC gave them a comfortable 16-point
margin at 60-44 following two Stanko free throws at 9:43. Their lead
would grow to 17 points three times as they cruised down the stretch
for a season-opening victory. |
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The
first game of the Tufts Tournament promised to be a good one, matching
Little East pre-season favorites Rhode Island College against
defending Commonwealth Coast Conference champion Endicott College. In
the end, the Anchormen won despite shooting just 34.7 percent
(25-for-62). Thirty Endicott turnovers was the biggest
difference-maker. It allowed RIC to take 72 shots compared to 47 for
the Gulls. |
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Senior tri-captain Kinsey Durgin (Greenwood, ME) added 13
points and three assists to the Rhode Island attack. Sophomore
Cameron Stewart (Newport, RI) finished with eight points, six
rebounds and three steals. |
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Burton and sophomore Joey Burgos (Lawrence, MA) led Endicott
with 14 points each. They were also two of the four Gulls who ended
the game with seven rebounds. Senior co-captain Nemanja Marinkovic
(Belgrade, Serbia) added 10 points, including an 8-for-8 effort
from the line. |
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The
Anchormen will face Tufts University, tournament host and the 12th-ranked
team in the country, in the Championship Game on Saturday, Nov. 18 at
4 p.m. |
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-end- |