BEVERLY, Mass. – Sophomore forward Andre Makris' (Southbury, Conn.) season-high 27 points led the Endicott men's basketball team to a hard-fought 69-66 home victory over CCC rival Western New England in MacDonald Gymnasium on Saturday, as the Gulls improved to 7-3 overall and 2-1 in conference games.
Although Makris came within two points of tying his career-high of 29 points set on November 15th, 2011 against the College of Saint Joseph, his 12-of-19 performance from the field, including 3-of-6 from three-point range, was his most consistent effort of the 2012-13 season. The sophomore added seven boards, a block, and an assist in 36 minutes on the court.
The Gulls escaped a dangerous three-point shooting display by Golden Bears senior guard Damon Alston (New Britain, Conn.) who connected on 5-of-8 attempts from beyond the arc en route to a team-high 17 points. Western New England dropped to 3-7 (2-2 CCC) on the season.
Trailing by five points at 48-43 at the 14:59 mark of the second half, Endicott rallied with an 11-2 run to take a four-point advantage with 12:08 remaining in the game. The Golden Bears would score the next two baskets to tie the game at 54-54, but the Gulls regained the lead and went up by a slim margin for the rest of the half. Alston's three-point shooting kept Western New England alive down the stretch as the senior drained two long balls to pull within two points at 65-63 with 1:37 to go and one point at 67-66 with just 1:01 left.
Endicott senior captain Lance Greene (Dorchester, Mass.), however, provided the Blue and Green with timely free throw shooting as the guard sunk 4-of-4 attempts from the charity stripe in the waning moments of the game. Greene finished with 10 points but did much of his damage in the passing game, tallying a season-high seven assists. Endicott as a team had 21 assists on 25 made baskets as both Dan Powers (Westwood, Mass.) and Bennett Knowlton (Shrewsbury, Mass.) both contributed with five and four assists, respectively. Knowlton also added nine points and four rebounds off the bench.
Endicott sophomore guard John Henault (Lunenburg, Mass.) registered his seventh straight game in double figures with 13 points while grabbing five rebounds and dishing out an assist.
Western New England saw junior center Dennis Rinaldi (Harrison, N.Y.) achieve a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, including five on the offensive glass. Freshman Zach Askew (Middletown, Conn.), sophomore Musa Elsir (Springfield, Mass.), and junior Ryan Mickiewicz (East Longmeadow, Mass.) combined for 24 points as Golden Bears starters accounted for 55 of the team's 66 points. Similarly, the Gulls saw their starters score 55 of their 69 points in the win.
Endicott held a 47-41 rebounding advantage over Western New England. The Gulls impressed at the free throw line, making 13-of-15 (86.7%) of their attempts.
The Gulls will host CCC opponent Nichols on Tuesday, January 8th at 7:00 pm. Western New England hosts conference foe Wentworth on the same day.
