BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott men's basketball team enjoyed a solid team effort in a 72-59 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) victory over visiting Western New England University in the last game of the regular season on Senior Day inside MacDonald Gymnasium.
Prior to today's game Chris Light (Derry, N.H.), Deven Richardson (Newark, N.J.), and Taylor Rioux (Ivoryton, Conn.) were all honored for their contributions to the men's basketball program.
The Golden Bears got on the scoreboard first and held leads of 5-2 at 18:22 and 8-6 at 14:17 early on, but it was all Endicott the rest of the way as the Gulls out-scored WNEU, 45-24, in the opening half behind a floor-leading 10 points from Light.
The Gulls shot 53.1 percent to the Golden Bears' 31 percent in the first stanza and led by as much as 24 points with 1:32 remaining in the first half for their largest lead of the game.
Western New England battled back in the second half, as the Golden Bears out-scored Endicott, 35-27, thanks in part to the play of freshman guard Mikey Pettway (Bridgeport, Conn.) who netted 13 of his game-high 18 points as part of the strong second half effort.
The Golden Bears cut Endicott's lead to just 13 with 15:34 left in the game, but the Gulls shut down the threat of a comeback with a balanced scoring attack. A season-high six student-athletes scored in double figures with junior forward Daquan Sampson (Germantown, Md.) leading the way with a team-high 14 points and a team-high eight boards.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Gulls won the battle off the glass, 38-30.
- Junior guards Max Motroni (West Warwick, R.I.) and Kamahl Walker (Worcester, Mass.) chipped in 11 points each.
- Rioux, Light, and junior guard Drew Sawyer (Norwalk, Conn.) scored 10 points apiece to round out the Gulls in double figures.
- Motroni extended his double-digit scoring streak to 24 games.
FOR THE FOES
- Freshman guard Mikey Pettway (Bridgeport, Conn.)
- Senior center Zack Askew (Middleton, Conn.) brought down a team-high nine rebounds, in addition to his seven points.
NOTES
- Endicott is now 11-5 all-time against the Golden Bears, as the most recent meeting before today was a 71-57 road win on Jan. 9, 2016 in Springfield, Mass.
- The Gulls have won nine straight against WNEU and are 6-2 at home all-time dating back to 2007 in head-to-head matchups.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Gulls (15-10, 12-6 CCC) and Golden Bears (8-17, 6-12 CCC) both advanced the CCC Quarterfinals that will take place on Tuesday, February 23, followed by the Semifinals on Feb. 25 and the CCC Championship on Saturday, February 27, 2016. No. 4 seed Endicott will host No. 5 seed Gordon at 5:30 p.m., while No. 8 seed Western New England drew No. 1 seed Nichols at 7:00 p.m. For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
