BEVERLY, Mass.— Endicott College saw the University of New England reduce a 10-point cushion to just one inside the final minute, but held on for a 60-58 Commonwealth Coast Conference women’s basketball victory Thursday evening at MacDonald Gymnasium.

The Gulls (8-9, 4-6 CCC) never trailed in the contest and led 49-39 with less than six minutes to play, before a 14-6 run by the Nor’easters (14-4, 10-1 CCC) in 4:18 had the gap down to two (55-53). UNE’s Meghan Gribbin started and ended the stretch with 3-pointers, and Kelly Coleman had six points in the middle.

A Kelsey Cuddy layup made the difference four, but a trey by Alanna Vose pulled UNE to within 57-56 at the 0:49 mark.

Endicott’s Hannah Shaw converted a three-point play with 24 seconds left to up the margin to 60-56, only to have UNE’s Alicia Brown knock down a jumper with 12 ticks remaining to make it a one-possession game.

The Gulls came up empty on the front-end of a 1-and-1, leaving the door open for the Nor’easters, but the layup attempt to tie as time expired rolled around the rim and out.

Cuddy filled the stat sheet for the hosts, totaling 17 points, nine rebounds, six steals, five assists, and three blocks. Kayleen Whall added 15 points and Shaw finished with 10 for Endicott, which shot 48 percent from the field on the night.

For UNE, Brown made 9-of-14 field goal tries and registered a career-high 21 points to go with eight rebounds and three blocks. Coleman contributed 19 points, including 15 over the closing 20 minutes. In addition to her six points, Gribbin picked up five steals. Lauren Hayden notched seven assists, six rebounds, and three steals in support.

Hayden’s first theft of the match was the 279th of her career, moving the junior into first place on the program’s all-time steals list, ahead of 2012 graduate Kelley Paradis.

Coleman jumped two spots into the top 10 (ninth) on UNE’s all-time scoring list, by reaching the 1,300-point plateau on the number with a three-point play near the end of the contest.

The Gulls took advantage of a slow start by their opponent (1-for-11 shooting, four turnovers) to build a 15-3 lead after 7:31 of action. The spread reached as high as 14 (22-8) and settled on 10 (31-21) at halftime. UNE connected on just 32 percent of its shot attempts in the opening frame.

Endicott tallied the first four of the second period to regain a 14-point cushion, but eight straight points by the Nor’easters (including six from Brown) kept things within striking distance (35-29).

Both teams are on the road for CCC outings on Saturday at 1 p.m., with the Gulls visiting Gordon College (1-9 CCC) and UNE making a trip to Eastern Nazarene College (5-5 CCC).

Men’s Basketball

ENDICOTT 72, UNE 50

BEVERLY, Mass. — Closing the first period with a 20-4 run to break open a two-point game, Endicott College went on to a 72-50 victory over the University of New England in Commonwealth Coast Conference men’s basketball action Thursday evening at MacDonald Gymnasium.

The Gulls improve to 12-5 (8-2 CCC) on the year, while the Nor’easters (3-8 CCC) slip back to 5-13 overall.

John Henault and Andre Makris paced Endicott with 16 points apiece, combining to shoot 11-for-15 from the floor. Max Motroni chipped in with 10 points. Stephen Basden hauled in 10 rebounds to help the Gulls establish a 44-27 advantage in the category.

For UNE, Evrim Ozkan tallied nine points and Jean-Luc Parker added eight.

The lead changed hands eight times over the initial 10 minutes before the Gulls scored 12 unanswered to go up 33-19. The margin was 18 (41-23) at the break, with EC shooting 50 percent from the field and 6-of-9 from deep, and the Nor’easters making 37 percent of their shots and going 1-of-8 from long distance.

UNE started the second stanza with a 14-3 run in 4:22 to close to within seven (44-37), but the hosts countered with nine of the next 12 points to restore the double-digit cushion (53-40).

Endicott, which grew the lead to as many as 25 (68-43), heads up the road to Gordon College (4-6 CCC) on Saturday.

UNE visits Eastern Nazarene College (8-2 CCC) the same day.