WIT Snaps Endicott's Four-Game Win Streak; Walker Tallies 31 Points In Setback

BOSTON, Mass. – Wentworth Institute of Technology snapped the Endicott men's basketball team's four-game win streak in a 77-75 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) showdown Tuesday night inside Tansey Gymnasium.

With the setback, the Gulls dropped to 8-6 overall and 5-2 in conference play, while Wentworth got back to .500 on the season (7-7) and improved to 5-2 in the CCC.

Endicott jumped out to a 7-0 lead to open the game with 17:57 remaining in the first half on junior guard Kamahl Walker's (Worcester, Mass.) layup before sophomore forward Jason Ganley (Northbridge, Mass.) got the Leopards on the board by dialing long distance with 17:15 on the clock.

Walker hit a jumper 16 seconds later at 16:59 to go up 9-3, but Wentworth took off on an 11-0 run over the next six minutes until Walker converted a layup with 11:05 to play in the half to make it 14-11 in favor of the Leopards.

Senior guard Kyle Romich (Groton, Mass.) kicked into gear and scored 14 of his game-high 31 points in the first half as the Gulls found themselves down 33-25 at the break and trailed for the remainder of the game.

Walker and junior guard Stephen Basden (Lynn, Mass.) brought the Gulls to within two points on three separate occasions down the stretch (61-59 at 5:19; 74-72 at 0:27, 77-75 at 0:01), but it wasn't enough as Wentworth hung on for a precious conference victory.

Walker carried the Gulls with 31 points (11-18 FG, 4-6 3PT, 5-7 FT) alongside four assists, four rebounds, one block and two steals in 32 minutes of action.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Junior guard Max Motroni (West Warwick, R.I.) has scored 20+ points in four games this season.
• Walker entered today's action averaging a CCC-leading 23.5 points per game and extended his double-digit scoring streak to 26 games.
• Junior forward Daquan Sampson (Germantown, Md.) and Basden each grabbed seven rebounds apiece as the team totaled just 26 rebounds (second lowest of the season; 22 vs. Salve Regina on 12/08/15).
• 25 points in a single half is the Gulls' lowest output this season.
• The Gulls are 3-2 when scoring at least 50 points in the second half.

FOR THE FOES

• Romich went off for 31 points on 10-19 FG, 5-10 3PT and 6-7 FT en route to a double-double with a game-high 10 rebounds and five assists.
• The Leopards placed two more student-athletes in double figures as junior guard Dan DeVaux (Wethersfield, Conn.) and Ganley joined Romich with 18 and 16 points, respectively.
• Wentworth's largest lead of the game (11 points) came at the 1:11 mark of the first half  with a 33-22 advantage.

NOTES

• Endicott is now 22-9 all-time against the Leopards, as the most recent meeting before today was a 90-60 win at home on Feb. 28, 2015 in the CCC Championship.
• The Gulls have won five of the last six head-to-head matchups against Wentworth and are 9-6 on the road all-time dating back to 1995 in head-to-head matchups.

WHAT'S NEXT

Both teams are back in action on Saturday, January 16 at 3:00 p.m. as the Gulls (8-6, 5-2 CCC) face cross-town rival Gordon at Gordon and Wentworth (7-7, 5-2 CCC) plays at Salve Regina. 

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