QUINCY, Mass. – The Endicott men's basketball team hit the road to take on an undefeated Eastern Nazarene squad in CCC action on Tuesday evening and behind a career-high 21 points from sophomore guard Max Motroni (West Warwick, R.I.) and a game-high 24 points from senior captain John Henault (Lunenburg, Mass.) the Gulls handed the Lions their first loss of the season, 88-70, to raise their 2014-15 record to 4-2 (2-1 CCC).
The Blue and Green played their most complete game of the season to-date, shooting 47% from the field as a team which included 46% (12-of-26) from three-point range and 80% (16-of-20) at the free throw line while dominating the boards, outrebounding Eastern Nazarene 53-37 in the win. Henault and Motroni each hit four three-pointers in the game and hauled in nine and eight boards, respectively. Motroni also tied his career-high with six assists.
Two other players reached double figures as sophomore forward Daquan Sampson (Germantown, Md.) recorded a near double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds and fellow second-year guard Kamahl Walker (Worcester, Mass.) poured in 11 points to go along with five rebounds, two assists, and a block.
Off the bench, senior forward Tell White (New Castle, N.H.) stuffed the stat sheet in his 24 minutes with six points, seven caroms, three assists, and a block.
Endicott's biggest challenge in this crucial, early-season conference game was slowing down one of the CCC's leading scorers in Lions junior guard Jaylen Owens (Johns Creek, Ga.). Owens, who came into the game averaging 19.3 points per game, was held in check in the first half with just four points on 2-of-12 shooting as the Gulls were able to take a slim 21-19 advantage midway through the period and turn it into a 49-29 halftime lead.
Endicott capitalized on their offensive opportunities in the first half by knocking down 7-of-12 three-point shots which included four by Henault and two by Motroni. Henault had 18 points in the half.
In the second half, the Gulls maintained their double-digit advantage throughout the period thanks to 11 points from Motroni, seven apiece from Sampson and Walker, and six from Henault. Owens turned it up in the second half and matched Henault for a game-high 24 points. Owens scored 20 in the second half courtesy of 8-of-14 shooting from the field and 3-of-8 from three-point land.
Eastern Nazarene forwards Alex Jarman (Portsmouth, R.I.) and Eric Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) netted nine points apiece in the game but as a team, the Lions shot just 34% for the game including 29% (6-of-21) from beyond the arc. Both Jarman and Lynch had a team-high six boards with Jarman adding four assists, two steals, and a block.
Endicott takes their 4-2 overall record into Saturday's home game against non-conference and North Shore rival Salem State (4-3). Tip-off with the Vikings is at 1:00 pm in MacDonald Gymnasium. In last year's meeting with Salem State, Endicott pulled off an 84-80 win on the road behind Andre Makris' (Southbury, Conn.) 26 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks.
