BIDDEFORD, Maine — The Endicott men's basketball team powered its way to its first conference win of the season, as it took down the University of New England, 107-91, on Wednesday evening in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) opener at Harold Alfond Forum.

Jalen Echevarria (Lynn, Mass.) propelled the Gulls offense with a season-high 26 points (7-15 FG, 5-9 3PT, 7-7 FT), eight assists, and four rebounds. He also swiped two steals and registered a block in the all-around effort.

Freshman forward Elijah Kinney (Nashville, Tenn.) picked up his second consecutive double-double, as he notched 14 points and 18 rebounds in his 30 minutes of play.

Mark Barrett (Brookline, Mass.) stuffed up the stat sheet once again for the Blue and Green, as he dropped 17 points (8-12 FG), ripped down seven rebounds, served up four assists, swatted three blocks, and picked up a steal in the win.

The Gulls jumped out to a fast 15-9 start in the opening stanza, as Matt Boen (Mansfield, Mass.) found Kinney for a dunk with 15:36 remaining. 

From there, the two teams exchanged baskets until around eight minutes were left in the half. UNE would take a brief 34-33 lead with 7:51 left on the clock, but from there Endicott exploded for a 24-10 run led by Echevarria to head to the break, giving itself a comfortable 58-44 lead halfway through the contest.

In the second, both offenses stayed hot right out of the break. UNE opened on a 13-11 run through the first four minutes, to which Endicott responded with a brief 4-1 spurt of its own to extend its lead to 15 (73-58) courtesy of Liam Dunfee (Nahant, Mass.).

The Nor'Easters offense continued to keep themselves in the game down the stretch, as they sparked a 13-6 run to get within eight of the Gulls with 9:33 left on the clock. 

However, the Blue and Green closed out the game on a 28-20 run to take down the hosts.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Echevarria's 26 point performance is his highest since January 21, 2023 (35 points at Suffolk).
• Endicott's ninth highest scoring output in program history.
• The Blue and Green led for more than 36 minutes in the contest.
• Kinney's 18 rebounds tie him for fourth in program single-game history.
• The Gulls won the battle on the glass with the Nor'Easters, 55-42.
• The victory was the 100th conference win for head coach Kevin Bettencourt

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (3-3, 1-0 CCC) welcomes Wentworth to MacDonald Gymnasium on Saturday at 3:00 PM. UNE (5-3, 0-1 CCC) travels to Western New England for a 3:00 PM contest on Saturday.