BOSTON, Mass. — The Endicott men's basketball team defeated Wentworth, 67-66, in a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) nail-biter on Saturday afternoon at Nelson Recreation Center.

Ty Vitko (Dover, N.H.) led a quartet of Gulls in double figures with 14 points and seven boards including the game-winning free throws with seven seconds left. 

The duo of Jeff Hill (Lynn, Mass.) and Cam Homsey (Windham, N.H.) each notched 11 points in the victory. 

Jalen Echevarria (Lynn, Mass.) supplied 10 points in 37 minutes of action.

In the opening frame, Wentworth went on an early 13-0 run to take a 25-10 lead with 8:28 remaining. The Gulls endured a scoreless stretch for 5:18 (12:12-7:35) of the first stanza. 

Trailing 45-28 at the break, the Gulls ignited a 20-5 stretch to deadlock the contest at 59-59 with 5:14 remaining in the second half. The burst was generated by Homsey (11), Echevarria (5), Vitko (2), and Elijah Kinney (Nashville, Tenn.) (2). 

Eventually, the visitors took the lead via a corner-pocket trifecta from Vitko and a Hill jumper to generate a 64-61 advantage with 4:04 to play.

In the final 1:37 of battle, Hill went one-of-two from the charity stripe to give Endicott a slim 65-64 lead.

Later, with 50 seconds to go, Wentworth's Sean Racette (Trumbull, Conn.) made a pair of freebies to give the lead back to the hosts, 66-65.

On the ensuing possession, after two offensive rebounds, Wentworth forced an offensive foul to get the ball back. 

Following the miscue, the Gulls generated a tie-up and earned possession, as the arrow pointed in Endicott's favor.

With seven seconds to play, Vitko drew a foul and cashed two free throws to give the Blue and Green a 67-66 lead. 

On Wentworth's final possession, Endicott made a clutch stand on defense to secure the road victory. 

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Blue and Green have won 15 of the last 16 meetings dating back to 1/3/17.
• The Gulls are 6-2 on the road in 2023-24.
• Despite getting outrebounded by two (40-38), Endicott scored six more second-chance points (10-4).
• Endicott edged Wentworth in transition, 11-8.
• Kinney snagged a game-high 12 boards.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (11-6, 6-3 CCC) welcomes the University of New England (UNE) on Tuesday, January 23 at 7:30 PM. Wentworth (7-10, 3-6 CCC) hosts Curry on Tuesday at 5:00 PM. 

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

(Photo Credit - Mazzie Hinsdale '26)