RAPID REACTION w/ KAMAHL WALKER
WATCH KAMAHL WALKER BREAK THE RECORD WITH HIS FREE THROW
ENDICOTT ALL-TIME RECORD BOOK
BEVERLY, Mass. — Senior guard Kamahl Walker (Worcester, Mass.) became the Endicott men's basketball team's all-time leading scorer as the Gulls broke away in the second half for an 81-53 win over the University of New England in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) play Tuesday night inside MacDonald Gymnasium on Gull Revolution's "White Out" themed night.
Walker came into his 100th career game needing just 20 points to become the program's all-time leading scorer to surpass Eric Simonelli's '01 career mark of 1,677 acquired through 99 career games and did so as he sunk a pair of free throws with 2:27 left in the first half for 22 of his game-high 28 points on the night coming in the opening stanza.
Endicott took a 35-30 lead into the halftime huddle and emerged by showing a strong defensive effort that held an opponent to its second-lowest output in a half against the Gulls all season.
Meanwhile, Endicott knocked down 15-of-33 shots, including 14-of-15 from the line in the second half alone to out-score UNE by a 46-23 margin en route to the Gulls' fourth win in a row and they made it eight straight against the Nor'easters in the all-time series.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Walker matched his season-high with 28 points and now has 1,686 career points.
- Senior guard Max Motroni (West Warwick, R.I.) joined Walker in double figures with 14 points and five rebounds.
- Senior forward Daquan Sampson (Germantown, Md.) brought down a game-high 11 rebounds to go with nine points as he was just shy of his third double-double of the season.
- Senior guard Drew Sawyer (Norwalk, Conn.) and junior guard Joel Villa (Bronx, N.Y.)both played well off the bench as they chipped in seven points apiece (career-high for Villa) and grabbed three and five rebounds each, respectively.
- The Gulls pulled down a season-high 41 defensive rebounds and matched their season-high with 53 rebounds in total to UNE's 35 on the night.
- Endicott converted a season-high 28-of-32 attempts from the charity stripe.
- 23 points in the second half was the second-lowest total the Gulls have allowed in a half all season (20 in the first half vs. Curry on 11/30/16).
- Endicott held UNE to 13 points in the second half with 5:53 to go in the game, before the Nor'easters tacked on 10 more points in the frame.
FOR THE FOES
- Sophomore guard Drew Muniz (Gloucester, Mass.) led the Nor'easters in scoring with nine points off the bench.
- Sophomore forward Zachary Kupferberg (Chicago, Ill.) grabbed a team-high seven rebounds to go with eight points off the bench.
- UNE's only lead of the game was the opening seconds as junior guard Gavin Dribble (Greenport, N.Y.) nailed a trey with 19:30 on the clock.
NOTES
- Endicott is now 22-10 all-time against the Nor'easters, and earned a regular-season sweep this season as the most recent meeting before today was a 78-65 win on the road on 12/06/2016.
- The Gulls have won eight in a row in head-to-head matchups with UNE and are 11-4 all-time in home games in the series dating back to the 1995 season.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (16-4, 11-2 CCC) takes on cross-town rival Gordon in Wenham, Mass. on Saturday, February 4th at 3:00 p.m.
University of New England (6-14, 4-9 CCC) hosts Roger Williams on Saturday, February 4th at 4:00 p.m. in Biddeford, Maine. For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
