No. 4 Endicott Men's Basketball at No. 1 Nichols: 2016 CCC Semifinals Preview

Posted: Feb 25, 2016

2016 CCC Men's Basketball Pairings Release | 2016 CCC Men's Basketball Semifinals

Endicott Men's Basketball 2016 CCC Semifinals Video Preview

BEVERLY, Mass. - The No. 4 Endicott men's basketball team will square off with No. 1 Nichols in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Semifinals on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 7:00 p.m. at the Nichols Athletic Center in Dudley, Mass.

The Gulls (16-10 overall) earned the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament after posting a 12-6 record in CCC play and advanced to CCC Tournament for the 15th time in program history.

In CCC Quarterfinal action on Tuesday night, the Gulls defeated No. 5 Gordon, 86-76, to advance to the CCC Semifinals, while No. 1 Nichols took care of No. 8 Western New England, 107-67.

PREVIOUS MATCHUPS: The Gulls and Bison met twice in the regular season, as the two teams split the season series with Endicott victorious 82-78 (OT) in Dudley, Mass. on Dec. 2, 2015. Nichols won the most recent meeting, an 86-77 win in Beverly, Mass. on Jan. 27 earlier this season. Endicott is 15-9 all-time and 5-6 on the road against Nichols dating back to the 1999-2000 season.

PLAYOFF HISTORY: Endicott and Nichols will meet in postseason play for the third time in recent program history as the Gulls won both prior meetings. Endicott won, 71-63, in the CCC Quarterfinals in Beverly, Mass. on Feb. 22, 2005. The Gulls also won, 67-57, in the CCC Quarterfinals in Beverly, Mass. on Feb. 20, 2007.

POSTSEASON HISTORY: The Gulls have made the CCC Tournament in 14 seasons since joining the conference in 1999, with appearances in a conference championship in 8 of 21 seasons overall*. In 2014-15, the Gulls captured the program's sixth CCC title with a 90-60 win over Wentworth to hoist their second trophy in the last four years and seventh overall. Second-year head coach Kevin Bettencourt has led the Gulls to a 39-16 overall record in his tenure and the team is hungry to repeat as CCC Champions. *includes 1998-99 GNAC Championship

ENDICOTT (16-10, 12-6 CCC) | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS: The Gulls are led in scoring by All-CCC First Team junior guard Kamahl Walker (Worcester, Mass.), who currently ranks fifth all-time on the program's scoring leader list with 1,261 career points. Walker is just seven points shy of tying current assistant coach Lance Greene's '13 mark of 1,268. All-CCC Second Team junior guard Max Motroni (West Warwick, R.I.) has scored in double figures in all 25 games he has appeared in this season and All-CCC Second Team junior forward Daquan Sampson (Germantown, Md.) is fourth in the conference with 10 double-doubles.

NICHOLS (23-3, 16-2 CCC) | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS: The Bison equaled a program-record of 23 wins, set during the 2013-14 campaign, and extended their school-record winning streak to 15 games in the team's 107-67 CCC Quarterfinal round matchup with Western New England. With the win, Nichols advanced to the CCC Semifinals for the second time in three years. The team is led by senior captain Irving Eggleston (East Lyme, Conn.) who was named the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Player of the Year for the second consecutive season and also earned CCC Defensive Player of the Year honors as he landed on the All-CCC First Team. Senior captain Gustave Koumare (Harlem, N.Y.) also garnered All-CCC First Team recognition and freshman guard Marcos Echevarria (Lynn, Mass.) was named to the All-CCC Second Team, while senior captain Christian Horton (Rutland, Mass.) was selected to the All-CCC Third Team.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE GAME:

Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/nichols/mbball/

Video: http://nicholsathletics.com/sports/2015/8/26/MBB_0826151555.aspx

For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

2016 CCC MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

Quarterfinals • Tuesday, February 23

#1 Nichols 107, #8 Western New England 67
#7 University of New England 61, #2 Wentworth 58
#6 Roger Williams 68, #3 Eastern Nazarene 67
#4 Endicott 86, #5 Gordon 76

Semifinals • Thursday, February 25

#1 Nichols vs. #4 Endicott, 7:00 p.m.
#6 Roger Williams vs. #7 University of New England, 7:00 p.m.

Championship Game • Saturday, February 27

Semifinal Winners, TBA (at higher seed)