SALEM, Mass – The Endicott men's basketball team traveled across the bridge to play in the Salem State Holiday Classic Tournament on Sunday night. The Gulls faced Berkeley (NY) in the first matchup and came out on top in the 78-75 victory. Graduate student Lachlan Magee (Melbourne, Australia) joins the 1,000 point club after tallying 14 points in the contest. Endicott now stands at 6-2 (1-1 CCC) while their opponents fall to 5-5.
The first half was controlled by the Gulls as they outscored the Knights 45-32. At 15:57 Magee gave the Blue and Green a six point lead after a trip to the free throw line. However senior Richard Rampersad (Bronx, N.Y.) banked a much needed jumper from long range to pull within one point a minute later. After a quick jumper from senior Danzel Whyte (Brooklyn, N.Y.) the Knights took the lead.
At 13:53 freshman Daquan Sampson (Germantown, Md.) answered back and sent a spark through Endicott after nailing a dunk to take back the lead which the Gulls held for the remainder of the game. Following the dunk the Blue and Green controlled the tempo of the game by outscoring the Knights 31-19 for the remainder of the half while also going on a scoring spree that gave the Blue and Green a 14-5 scoring run.
In the final eight minutes of the half Endicott posted two impressive notes after going on another 14-4 run while also adding another player to the 1,000 point list after Magee nailed his 9th point of the game at 7:23.
To finish the half junior John Henault (Lunenburg, Mass.) led with 15 points while the Gulls held Berkeley (NY) to zero points in eight straight possessions as the Gulls led 45-32 to end the first frame.
The second frame showed a different Knights team that worked the Blue and Green hard in all aspects of the floor. After building a 14 point lead Berkeley came surging back slowly in the opening minutes and then came out firing at the halfway mark going on an 11-0 run and cutting the Gulls lead to 57-54 with 11:20 remaining in the game.
Endicott did not fluster at the comeback as they made some adjustments and turned their game back on after the Knights came within one point at 6:28. After a cumulative effort from freshman's Sampson and Max Motroni (West Warwick, R.I.) along with juniors Henault and Andre Makris (Southbury, Conn.) the Blue and Green kept their lead since the early minutes of the first half to take the 75-72 victory.
Overall the Gulls struggled from close range shooting 37.7% but made up for it by shooting 26-41 from the free throw line. The squad had three players in double figures with Henault (18), Magee (14) and Makris (10) while Sampson showed great efforts off the boards compiling 12 rebounds.
Magee needed 19 points at the start of the season to become the 10th member of the Endicott men's basketball program to reach a career 1,000 point milestone. Entering tonight's game he needed nine which he earned in the first half. The graduate student hit the mark in just 77 games played.
Endicott will wrap up 2013 tomorrow, Monday, December 30th at 6:00 p.m. when they tip off against Salem State in the Holiday Classic Tournament. Berkeley (NY) will also cap off 2013 on the 30th with a match against Bates at 2:00.
