Feb. 20, 2006

BEVERLY, MA - Senior co-captain Matt George (Dover, NH/Dover) was the first Endicott College men's basketball player to be named the Commonwealth Coast Conference Player of the Week this season.

George was a one-man wrecking crew in his final regular season week in the CCC. George averaged 22.0 points, including a game-high 29 points in a win over Roger Williams. In a playoff-clinching week, the guard shot 89 percent from the free-throw stripe, 61 percent from the field and 53 percent from long range.

George dished out 4.3 assists over the three games and collected 5.3 rebounds to guide the two-time defending conference champions to a No. 2 seed in the North Division.

The Gulls had a player named to the CCC Honor Roll in each of the first 10 weekly reports, but could never earn the Player of the Week honors until this week.

Endicott begins its two-time CCC title defense Tuesday night when it hosts Curry College - one of only three CCC teams to beat the Gulls during the regular season (Colby-Sawyer, Gordon). EC, which is 16-9 overall and 13-3 in the CCC North Division, earned the No. 2 seed in the CCC North behind George and junior forward Nemanja Marinkovic (Belgrade, Serbia & Montenegro/Second Baptist School, TX).

The two players became the eighth and ninth Endicott players to join the 1,000-point club. Gulls' head coach Chris Millette described George as one of the toughest players to defend in New England. His ability to beat you inside and score from outside makes him an all-star.

George is one of the top ballhandlers in the CCC as well. He is leading the team in steals (1.73), assists (3.86) and assists to turnover ratio (1.10). All three of those stats are among the best in the CCC as well.

Tuesday night's winner will face the Wentworth/Roger Williams winner Thursday. Wentworth is the No. 4 seed in the North Division while Roger Williams earned the top seed in the South.