BIDDEFORD, Maine – The Endicott men's basketball returned to their winning ways on Saturday, taking down Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) opponent University of New England for the second time this season. The Gulls won 86-73 behind a 14-point, six-rebound, and five-assist effort from junior guard John Henault (Lunenburg, Mass.) and freshman forward Daquan Sampson's (Germantown, Md.) sixth double-digit rebounding game of the season.
Endicott (14-5, 8-4 CCC) improved to 16-10 all-time versus UNE with their fourth win in the last six meetings. The Gulls are one of two teams with an 8-4 record in the CCC standings behind top-ranked Nichols at 10-1. Endicott and Nichols are tied for the conference lead in overall wins with 14 victories.
Endicott will hit the road to face Salve Regina on Tuesday evening for a 7:30 pm tip-off. Back on January 7th, Endicott handed Salve Regina an 11-point defeat at MacDonald Gymnasium as Henault erupted for a game-high 26 points.
UNE (1-18, 1-11 CCC) has now lost 12-straight games and two regular season losses to Endicott after suffering a 103-95 overtime loss back on January 4th.
Endicott put up big first half numbers to en route to a 46-25 halftime advantage. Henault scored 10 of his 14 points in the period, knocking down 4-of-6 shots including two three-pointers as well as recording three rebounds and two assists. With a 22-12 lead, Gulls freshman guard Drew Sawyer (Norwalk, Conn.) checked into the game at the 8:59 mark and proceeded to light it up from beyond the arc with three makes in four attempts. Sawyer's nine point performance in the first half helped Endicott push their 10-point lead up to a 16-point lead with just a few minutes remaining until halftime.
In the second half, Endicott turned to their bench as freshman guard Max Motroni (West Warwick, R.I.) netted seven points, junior forward Tell White (New Castle, N.H.) grabbed four rebounds with an assist and a steal, and Stephen Basden (Lynn, Mass.) as well as starters Andre Makris (Southbury, Conn.) and Lachlan Magee (Melbourne, Australia) all added five points apiece. Gulls sophomore Chris Light (Derry, N.H.) played well in 10 minutes off the bench with six points, three rebounds, three assists, and a steal.
Henault, Sawyer, and Magee were the only players on Endicott's roster to reach double figures with 14, 11, and 10 points, respectively.
UNE's offense was led by first year guard/forward Brayden Morse (Long Beach, Calif.) who scored a game-high 18 points on 8-of-19 shooting but was just 1-of-7 from three-point range. As a team, UNE shot 35.5% from the field and 26.1% from three.
The Nor'easters were outrebounded by Endicott 50-34. Twenty-two of Endicott's rebounds were on the offensive glass which contributed to 21 second-chance points. Also, Endicott's bench outscored UNE 50-18.
