CCC SEMIFINALS PREVIEW: No. 2 Endicott To Host No. 6 Eastern Nazarene On Thursday

The Endicott men's basketball team gives high fives to each other.

CCC MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT PAIRINGS RELEASE | INTERACTIVE BRACKET

BEVERLY, Mass. — The second-seeded Endicott men's basketball team's 110-64 victory over Salve Regina propelled them into the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Semifinals where the Gulls will play host to the sixth-seeded Eastern Nazarene Lions on Thursday.

CCC SEMIFINALS: NO. 2 ENDICOTT vs. NO. 6 EASTERN NAZARENE

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 7:00 PM | MACDONALD GYMNASIUM | BEVERLY, MASS.

Note: Doors will close once capacity is reached, so please plan to arrive early!

LIVE STATS | VIDEO (Watch on ecgulls.tv and Facebook LIVE!) | GAME PROGRAM

THE MATCHUP: The Gulls (21-5 overall) will host sixth-seeded Eastern Nazarene on Thursday, February 23rd at 7:00 p.m., after the Lions bested No. 3 Roger Williams, 83-78, in the CCC Quarterfinals on Tuesday night. The Gulls swept the Lions in the regular-season series, 72-68 on Dec. 3, 2016 and 80-67 in the most recent meeting.

POSTSEASON HISTORY: The Gulls have qualified for the conference tournament each in the past four consecutive years, and 20 of the 23 years since Endicott became NCAA Division III varsity program in 1994-95. Endicott is in the hunt for its ninth title (7x CCC, one GNAC) and third-straight under third-year head coach Kevin Bettencourt.

NO. 2 ENDICOTT (21-5, 15-3 CCC) | STATISTICS | SCHEDULE

The Gulls are on a four-game win streak and posted a 20-plus win season for the fifth time in program history. Endicott is led in scoring by All-CCC First Team senior guard Kamahl Walker (Worcester, Mass.), whose 470 update points this season helped him become the program's all-time leading scorer back on Jan. 31, 2017. Senior guard Max Motroni (West Warwick, R.I.) and senior forward Daquan Sampson (Germantown, Md.) were also named to the All-CCC Second and Third teams earlier this week, respectively. Endicott is 11-1 and 10-0 against conference opponents at home this season.

NO. 6 EASTERN NAZARENE (13-13, 9-9 CCC) | STATISTICS | SCHEDULE

The Lions are making an appearance in the CCC Semifinals for the third time in the past five years. The team is led by seniors Christian Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) and Corey Doran (Fairfield, Calif.). Lynch was named to the All-CCC Second Team as he ranks sixth in the conference with 19.0 points per game. All-CCC Third Team guard Doran is second in the conference in field-goal percentage (61.5) and is second on the team in points per game 916.7) as the team's leading rebounder with per contest (5.8).

WHAT'S AT STAKE: The winner will have the right to compete for the conference championship on Saturday, February 25th at a site and time to be determined. The CCC Tournament Champion will receive the conference's automatic qualifier into the NCAA DIII Men's Basketball Championship.   

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 2017 CCC Men's Basketball Tournament Schedule

(Games hosted by the higher seed)

Quarterfinals – Tuesday, Feb. 21

#1 Nichols 89, #8 University of New England 71

#2 Endicott 110, #7 Salve Regina 64

#6 Eastern Nazarene 83, #3 Roger Williams 78

#5 Wentworth 82, #4 Gordon 75

Semifinals – Thursday, Feb. 23

#1 Nichols vs. #5 Wentworth, TBA

#2 Endicott vs. #6 Eastern Nazarene, TBA

Finals – Saturday, Feb. 25