Endicott victorious 84-78 over Roger Williams to claim first CCC win

BEVERLY, Mass. – Junior forward Lachlan Magee (Melbourne, Australia) registered his second straight game with 21 points to lead the Endicott men's basketball team to an 84-78 victory over CCC opponent Roger Williams on Saturday afternoon at MacDonald Gymnasium.  The Gulls earned their first conference win of the 2012-13 season and will now wait until January 5^th before their next CCC match up.

Endicott plays non-conference foe Wheelock on Thursday, December 6^th at home with a 7:00 pm tip-off.  It will be the fifth ever meeting between the Gulls and Wildcats with both teams claiming two victories in the series. 

Roger Williams, despite a 30-point outburst by senior guard James LeCardi (Fair Haven, N.J.), saw their season record fall to 2-2 (0-2 CCC).  LeCardi scored 22 of his game-high 30 in the second half on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor including three three-pointers.   The Hawks will visit conference rival Western New England on Thursday, December 6^th at 7:30 pm in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Magee's 21 points were supplemented by an 18-point effort by senior guard Lance Greene (Dorchester, Mass.) who pulled to within 22 points of 1,000 for his career which would make him the ninth player in Endicott men's basketball history to accomplish the career milestone.  Greene added five boards, four assists, and two steals in 36 minutes on the court. 

Endicott built an 11-point lead early in the first half as the Gulls raced out to a 21-10 lead with 13:42 remaining until halftime.  The Hawks pulled to within single digits but Endicott once again stretched out their lead to as large as 15 before settling on a 10-point 44-34 lead at the break.  Magee led all scorers with 10 points in the opening half on 4-of-4 shooting with one make from beyond the arc.  Sophomore guard John Henault (Lunenburg, Mass.) added nine of his season-high 16 points in 18 first half minutes. 

The Blue and Green continued their strong play in the second half leading by as many as 19 at 72-53 with 6:34 to go.  A 12-0 run by the Hawks, however, brought the visitors to within seven points.  LeCardi scored six of those points and freshman forward Jared Lewis (Peabody, Mass.) scored four of his 12 points during the stretch run as well. 

After Greene forced a Roger Williams turnover and led a fast break down the court which was finished with a layup by Magee, Endicott would cruise over the final two minutes of the game by making 8-of-11 free throw attempts.  The Gulls went to the free throw line 35 times in this game, making 27 of those attempts. 

Gulls junior guard Tyler Burkhart (Cromwell, Conn.) scored 10 points off the bench and sophomore forward Andre Makris (Southbury, Conn.) recorded three of Endicott's four team blocks in the win. 

Roger Williams also saw sophomore forward Joseph Henry (Medway, Mass.) contribute with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting which including 3-of-5 makes from three-point land.  Adam Cook (Manasquan, N.J.) and Ryan Palumbo (Warwick, R.I.) both dished out four dimes in the loss.