SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Endicott men's basketball team rallied behind a 20-point game by sophomore John Henault (Lunenburg, Mass.) and another 13 points from sophomore Matt Kneece (Shrewsbury, Mass.) to win 70-64 over Western New England in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) play.
The Gulls improved to 9-12 (4-10 CCC) and will face off against North Shore rival and conference rival Gordon on Wednesday, February 6th at 7:30 pm at MacDonald Gymnasium.
Henault was the game's leading scorer with 20 points on 8-of-13 from the field including 4-of-5 from three-point range. The sophomore grabbed four rebounds, recorded two steals and one assist. Kneece came off the bench and shot 4-of-4 from the floor and made 5-of-8 attempts from the free throw line for 13 points. He grabbed six boards and swatted two shots.
Endicott took a 36-31 lead at the break thanks to 10 points from Henault and another six points from junior Lachlan Magee (Melbourne, Australia). Sophomore Tell White (New Castle, N.H.) helped control the boards with five rebounds as Endicott went on to finish with a 38-32 advantage.
In the second half, Henault added another 10 points on a perfect 4-of-4 from the floor, including two makes from beyond the three-point line, plus another 11 points from senior captain Lance Greene (Dorchester, Mass.). Greene finished with five boards, four assists, and four steals, to go along with 13 points in the game.
Late in the second half, the Golden Bears tied the game at 64-64 after free throws by Sinclair Lewis (Bristol, Conn.) with 2:35 to go. Greene made the go-ahead basket on a layup with 2:18 remaining and added another four points on a three-ball and a free throw to put the game away.
Endicott shot 45.5% from the floor as a team and 53.3% (8-of-15) from three-point range. Henault made four of those three points with Greene, Mageee, Matt Elllis (Westford, Mass.), and Bennett Knowlton (Shrewsbury, Mass.) adding one apiece.
