BEVERLY, Mass. – In the first game for both teams in the 2012 portion of their season's schedule, the Endicott men's basketball team used a strong second half effort by senior Erik Callo (Southington, Conn.) to fend off North Shore rival Salem State 93-89 in MacDonald Gymnasium on Wednesday night. 
 
Callo's 12-point, six-rebound second half surge lifted the Gulls to a 6-3 overall record while the Vikings lost their fourth game in five chances to fall to 7-5. 
 
Endicott and Salem State met for just the fourth time in both program's history and the Gulls earned their first win over the Vikings, having lost the previous three meetings. 
 
The Blue and Green, playing for the first time in 22 days, shot 52.2% (36-of-69) from the floor including 9-of-17 from three-point range.  Endicott's leading scorer, freshman guard John Henault (Lunenberg, Mass.), connected on 4-of-6 attempts from beyond the arc and finished with a team-high 19 points. 
 
The Gulls also saw four other players reach double figures in points.  Sophomore guard Lachlan Magee (Melbourne, Australia) had 16 points while both Lance Greene (Dorchester, Mass.) and Andre Makris (Southbury, Conn.) added 15 points apiece.  Callo finished the game with a double-double, 14 points and 10 rebounds, with two blocks, two assists, and a steal.  Sophomore guard Bennett Knowlton (Shrewbury, Mass.) came off the bench to dish out a team-high five assists while dropping in six points. 
 
Vikings point guard Apollos Wade (Taunton, Mass.) dished out 10 assists in the game as the looked for his teammates for the outside shot.  Salem State attempted 38 three-pointers in the game, making 14 of them including four by leading scorer Nate Simpson (Lowell, Mass.) who had a game-high 21 points in the loss.  Simpson filled the stat sheet with three rebounds, three blocks, two assists and two steals before fouling out late in the game.  Salem State sophomore guard Jamel Williamson (Boston, Mass.) and Wade each hit three three-pointers in the game with both players finishing with 15 and 10 points, respectively.  Salem State's inside presence was represented by senior forward Brian Clark (Deerfield, Mass.) who had 19 points and nine rebounds, including five on the offensive glass.
 
At the start of the second half, the Gulls trailed by five at 52-47 but an 8-0 run catapulted Endicott into the lead.  Salem State would tie the score at 55-55 after a jumper by Justin Nieves (Lawrence, Mass.) and a made free throw by Wade, but Endicott retook the advantage and went on to hold a lead as large as seven points in the stanza.  
 
Late in the game with 4:38 remaining, the Vikings rallied and after a jumper by Simpson the visitors held an 84-83 lead, their first since the beginning of the half. 
 
A layup by Endicott's Greene quickly gave the Gulls back the lead at 85-84 with 4:28 to go.  Endicott would not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the game as they used strong defense and rebounding down the stretch to win the game.  Salem State also missed 8 of their last 10 shots over the final four minutes. 
 
Endicott outrebounded Salem State 40-33 in the game, grabbing 14 offensive boards.  The Vikings, however, got significant contributions off their bench, outscoring the Gulls 25-14. 
 
Endicott hits the road on Saturday, January 7^th for a CCC match up against Western New England starting at 3:00 pm.  Salem State opens up their MASCAC schedule on the same day as they travel to Westfield State for a 3:00 pm tip-off.