QUINCY, Mass. – Sophomore guard John Henault (Lunenburg, Mass.) scored a game-high 19 points in a 94-76 Endicott men's basketball loss to Eastern Nazarene on Saturday afternoon as the Gulls suffered their sixth straight defeat at the hands of a conference opponent.
The Blue and Green are now 7-9 (2-7 CCC) on the season. The team is off until Wednesday, January 23rd when they visit Salve Regina for a 7:30 pm tip-off. Endicott lost by six points to the Seahawks back on November 28th at home. Eastern Nazarene (12-3, 7-2 CCC) has won six straight games and next faces UMaine-Presque Isle on Monday afternoon.
Henault was 6-of-8 from the floor, including one three-pointer, and a perfect 6-of-6 at the free throw line en route to 19 points. The sophomore has been a consistent offensive presence for the Gulls, scoring in double figures in every game this season except one.
Off the bench, Endicott got double-digit efforts by junior guard Bennett Knowlton (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and sophomore center Matt Kneece (Shrewsbury, Mass.) who scored 12 points apiece in the loss. Knowlton was 3-of-6 from beyond the arc while Kneece added four rebounds and a block to his stat line. In his first game since December 15th, junior Lachlan Magee (Melbourne, Australia) returned from injury to score nine points, grab five boards, and dish out five assists.
Endicott struggled to contain an Eastern Nazarene offense that was electric from three-point land as the Lions sunk 11 threes as a team. Freshman guard Justin Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) came off the bench to go 3-of-6 from long distance while a total of seven different Lions hit from three-point range. The Lions were led offensively by freshman guard Eric Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) who totaled 18 points on 6-of-11 from the floor and 6-of-8 at the free throw line. He also grabbed five rebounds and two dimes.
As a team, Eastern Nazarene outrebounded Endicott 40-32 in the game and shot 50.0% (36-of-72) from the floor, 40.7% (11-of-27) from three-point range, and 84.6% (11-of-13) at the line. Endicott made 49.2% (29-of-59) of their field goal attempts, 40.0% (6-of-15) three-point shots, and 60.0% (12-of-20) free throws.
Endicott dropped to 14-6 all-time versus Eastern Nazarene. The Gulls swept the two regular season meetings with the Lions in 2011-12 season.
