BEVERLY, Mass. — The Endicott men's basketball team was victorious over Wentworth, 94-85, in its conference home opener on Saturday afternoon at MacDonald Gymnasium thanks to a strong second half comeback effort.

Ty Vitko (Dover, N.H.) led the Gulls with 29 points (7-9 FG, 5-6 3PT, 10-11 FT), 27 of which came in the second half, to go along with his two steals.

Jalen Echevarria (Lynn, Mass.) scored 21 points (7-18 FG, 6-6 FT), swiped two steals, and dished out three assists in a team-high 37 minutes of play.

Elijah Kinney (Nashville, Tenn.) dropped 19 points (8-9 FG, 2-2 3PT) and snagged four rebounds in 18 minutes.

The Gulls trailed by 19 early on in the contest, as Wentworth jumped out to a 31-12 lead in the opening 10:38.

Endicott responded with a 29-17 run to close the half, and cut the Panthers' lead down to just seven (48-41) at the break. The run was sparked by a 13 point effort from Echevarria, and included some clutch scoring from Matt Boen (Mansfield, Mass.) and a timely three pointer from Drew Brown (Pelham, N.H.).

The two teams exchanged baskets frequently in the 10 opening minutes of the second frame. After Cam Homsey (Lawrence, Mass.) knocked down two free throws, the Wentworth lead stood at seven (72-65) with 9:43 remaining in the contest. From this point on, Endicott stormed in front behind Vitko's heroics.

Between the 9:12 to 4:31 marks, Vitko scored 19 consecutive points for the Gulls, singlehandedly outscoring the Panthers 19-9 in that nearly five minute stretch. After his personal run, the Gulls held an 84-81 lead with 4:31 left to play.

The home team closed out that final 4:31 with two baskets from Kinney and six made free throws between Vitko and Mark Barrett (Brookline, Mass.) to secure its largest lead of the game at 94-85 as the final buzzer sounded, completing the 19 point comeback.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Gulls outscored the Panthers 21-3 on points off turnovers in the second half, and 30-12 in the game.
• First back-to-back 90 point scoring performances for the Gulls since February 16, 2022 and February 19, 2022 (96 points at Nichols | 90 points vs. Suffolk).
• Boen recorded a career- and game-high 10 rebounds.
• The Panthers led for 32:27 as opposed to the Gulls' 4:51 in the contest.
• The Gulls now lead the all-time series 36-11.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (4-3, 2-0 CCC) travels to Suffolk on Tuesday, December 5 for a 7:30 PM tipoff. Wentworth (4-2, 1-1 CCC) welcomes Hartford to its campus on Tuesday for a 7:00 PM opening tip.

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Photo Credit - (Mazzie Hinsdale '26)