BEVERLY, Mass. – In a battle between two 10-2 teams in the CCC, the Endicott men's basketball team came out on top 73-70 over Eastern Nazarene at home as Gulls sophomore guard Max Motroni (West Warwick, R.I.) scored a team-high 21 points on a near perfect 8-of-9 shooting from the field.
Endicott (15-5, 11-2 CCC) has now won six in-a-row and are in sole possession of second place in the conference standings behind top dog Nichols (15-4, 12-0 CCC). Before Endicott plays Nichols next Wednesday at home, the Gulls will need to beat CCC opponent Roger Williams (7-13, 5-8 CCC) on the road Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. Endicott defeated Roger Williams 76-58 back on January 8th thanks to a double-double from sophomore big man Daquan Sampson (Germantown, Md.) and 14 points off the bench from sophomore guard Drew Sawyer (Norwalk, Conn.).
Eastern Nazarene (17-3, 10-3 CCC) suffered just their third loss of the season but nearly pulled off a victory on the road behind a 32-point effort from the CCC's second-leading scorer Jaylen Owens (Johns Creek, Ga.). Owens made 13-of-29 shots from the floor including six three-pointers while adding three rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block. The Lions will look to return to the win column with Saturday's road test at Wentworth (10-10, 8-5 CCC). Tip-off is at 3:00 p.m. as Eastern Nazarene aims to sweep the season series with the Leopards.
Endicott led Thursday night's match up with Eastern Nazarene 56-46 with 8:26 remaining in the second half before the Lions mounted a comeback courtesy of an 11-0 run over 2:45 to take a 57-56 advantage. Lions sophomore guard Christian Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) sparked the Eastern Nazarene run by draining back-to-back three-pointers before Owens added five more points by himself to force the Gulls into a timeout.
After the timeout, a layup by Gulls sophomore guard Kamahl Walker (Worcester, Mass.) and a jumper by Motroni put Endicott back on top by three at 60-57 with just under five minutes to go. Owens would put Eastern Nazarene ahead after tying the game with a three and a go-ahead jumper with 4:05 on the clock. Less than two minutes later and the Lions still leading by two at 64-62, Walker responded with a clutch three-point conversion to put the Blue and Green ahead by one. Another jumper by Motroni extended the Gulls lead to 67-64 with just 1:30 remaining.
Eastern Nazarene made one final push and tied the game on the one and only basket from junior guard Justin Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.), a three-pointer from the corner to knot the score at 67-67 and under 90 seconds to go.
Endicott turned to their leading scorer in the game Motroni who converted yet another mid-range jumper, shaking off his defender, to put his team up by two. Free throws by Walker made it a four-point game and despite a late, old-fashioned three-point play by Eastern Nazarene's Lynch, Endicott put the game away on free throws by senior captain John Henault (Lunenburg, Mass.).
Walker and Henault both finished with 15 points and two assists apiece in the win for Endicott. Henault added six rebounds while Walker pulled in four. Daquan Sampson grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and recorded two of Endicott's six blocks. Three other blocks came from senior forward Andre Makris (Southbury, Conn.). Endicott's six blocks tied their season-high.
Owens fueled the offense for Eastern Nazarene but was complemented by 11 points off the bench by Christian Lynch while junior guard Eric Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) also scored 11 points with two blocks in the loss. Lions senior big man Alex Jarman (Portsmouth, R.I.) was a beast on the boards, collecting 18 caroms including six on the offensive glass. Jarman also had four assists, a block, and a steal.
For the game, Endicott shot 49% as a team and 44% (8-of-18) from three-point range. The Gulls were also 82% (9-of-11) at the free throw line. Eastern Nazarene shot 38% overall and 44% (10-of-23) from beyond the arc while knocking down 4-of-5 shots at the charity stripe. Eastern Nazarene held a slim 38-37 rebounding margin and saw their bench outscore Endicott's 22-15 while the Gulls outscored the Lions 28-20 for points in the paint.
