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BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott men's basketball team saw four of their starters score in double figures, including two players with at least 20 points, as the Gulls won their fifth game in six attempts with an 88-79 victory over Curry at home.
Endicott (9-4, 4-2 CCC) used a 50.0% (16-of-32) field goal shooting performance in the first half and consistent free throw shooting in the second half (81.8%, 18-of-22) to hand the Colonels a conference loss.
Curry (4-8, 2-3 CCC) sophomore guard Lambros Papalambros (Quincy, Mass.) led the visitors with 21 points on 9-of-19 from the floor with two three-pointers. Papalambros also dished out a game-high six assists, part of a 20-assist effort for the Colonels as a team.
The Gulls were paced by freshman forward Andre Makris (Southbury, Conn.) who dropped 22 points, his highest total since his 29-point collegiate debut back on November 15th. Makris added eight boards and two blocks in 30 minutes on the court. Sophomore Lachlan Magee scored 14 of his 20 points in the first half and senior big man Erik Callo (Southington, Conn.) registered his second double-double of the season with 19 points and 12 caroms, four of which were on the offensive glass. Callo also swatted two blocks.
In the opening half, the Gulls used 10 early points by freshman Makris to gain a 21-12 advantage just 5:37 into the game. Makris went on to score 16 of his points in the first half on 6-of-8 shooting including 2-of-3 from beyond the three-point line.
The Colonels kicked their offense into gear to eventually tie the game at 27 with 7:12 to go in the half. After a Makris free throw, Curry took their first lead of the game since the opening basket on a Thomas McLean (Paxton, Mass.) layup with an assist to Papalambros.
Magee found his stroke late in the first half and helped earn the Gulls regain momentum to eventually hold a 44-42 halftime lead following a 6-of-9 shooting effort including one three-ball.
In the second half, Curry quickly took back the lead after their first possession led to a three-point make by sophomore guard Brian Boyajian (Saugus, Mass.). The Colonels went up by three at 47-44 after a Matthew Russell (South Portland, Maine) layup but Endicott rallied to score 10 of the next 12 points to move ahead 54-49 with 16:05 to go.
The two teams exchanged baskets for the next few minutes until Endicott once again went on a run that saw them go up by as many as 16 points at the 9:05 mark. Gulls freshman guard John Henault (Lunenberg, Mass.) attacked the hoop often and got to the line for eight free throw attempts and made seven of them. Henault finished the game with 12 points.
Curry cut the Endicott lead down to no fewer than seven points with 2:34 remaining, but the Blue and Green held on for their second CCC league win in-a-row.
Colonels junior guard and the CCC's leading scorer Sedale Jones (Pittsfield, Mass.) netted 16 points and also added seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks to his stat line. Michael Connery (Narragansett, R.I.) scored 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting including 4-of-6 from long range to chip in offensively.
Endicott held a 48-42 advantage on the boards while Curry used fast break opportunities (14 points) and some bench contributions (14 points) to stay in the game.
The Gulls continue recent home stretch with another CCC battle against North Shore rival Gordon on Tuesday, January 17th at 8:00 pm. Curry hosts Western New England on the same night for an 8:00 pm tip-off.
