CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Looking to kick the 2014-15 season and the head coaching tenure of Kevin Bettencourt off in style, the Endicott men's basketball team earned a 95-44 win over Lesley in their season opener. The 95-point outburst is the team's highest point total in a season opener in program history as the Gulls saw all 14 players that played tonight score at least two points. Endicott returns to action on Friday when they travel to Waterville, Maine to compete in the Colby Classic, squaring off against Plymouth State at 7:00 pm.
Leading the way for the Gulls on the night was guard Drew Sawyer (Norwalk, Conn.) as the sophomore came off the bench to score a game high 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field. Sawyer was a perfect 4-of-4 from behind the arc as the Gulls shot an impressive 13-30 (43.3%) as a team from three point land. The sophomore also recorded four rebounds, four steals and two assists in the victory.
Joining Sawyer in double digits were senior John Henault (Lunenberg, Mass.) and Kamahl Walker (Worcester, Mass.) as they guards scored 13 and 12, respectively. Henault's 13 points came on 5-of-9 shooting overall while also hitting 50% (3-of-6) of his three-point attempts as he tied for the team-high in rebounds with seven. Walker's 12 points came in addition to six boards and three assists. Fellow sophomore Daquan Sampson (Germantown, Md.) tied Henault for the team lead in rebounds with seven while the forward also scored seven points. Max Motroni (West Warwick, R.I.) filled up his stat sheet in 19 minutes of play as the sophomore scored eight points with recording six rebounds, six assists and three steals in the win.
Endicott's bench was a major resource for Bettencourt in his coaching debut as the Gulls outscored the Lynx 51-5 with their reserve players. Again, Sawyer's game-high 17 came off the bench with senior big man Matt Kneece (Shrewsbury, Mass.) adding eight points on a perfect 3-of-3 from the field.
As a team, Endicott dominated on the glass, outrebounding Lesley 61-34. The Gulls assisted on 17 of their 34 baskets as they also played lock-down defense, holding the Lynx to a 28.6% shooting night and recording 15 steals as they forced the home team into 23 turnovers overall.
Leading the way for Lesley was Justin Rosa (East Brunswick, N.J.) as the senior scored a team-high 12 points. Rosa also collected five steals, five boards and three steals on the night. Matt Gianoni (Berlin, Conn.) was close behind, tallying 10 points on an efficient 4-of-5 performance from the field to go along with five rebounds. Guard Terrell Toney (Lakewood, Wash.) recorded a game-high nine rebounds as the sophomore also scored nine points and had three steals.
Endicott held just a five point lead with under six minutes to go in the first before the Gulls would put together a 17-2 run to close the half with a 43-20 lead. The Gulls maintained that momentum at the start of the second half as they came out on a 16-2 run to swell the lead to 59-22 before closing the game with a 51-point win, 95-44.
With the win, Endicott moves to 1-0 on the season and will travel to Waterville, Maine to compete in the Colby Classic squaring off against Plymouth State at 7:00 pm on Friday. The Gulls' first home contest comes on December 3rd when they play host to CCC rival Gordon to kick off their conference schedule. Lesley is now off for a two week holiday break before they too take on Plymouth State on December 1st.
