SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The Endicott men's basketball team fell to Western New England (WNE), 77-61, in the winner-take-all for the Conference of New England (CNE) first-seed on Saturday afternoon inside an electric Alumni Healthful Living Center.
Marcus Montagnino (Gloucester, Mass.) led the way for the Gulls with a game-best 24 points (9-15 FG, 6-8 FT) along with seven rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
Matt Boen (Mansfield, Mass.) added 14 points (5-11 FG, 4-8 3PT) and six boards, while Elijah Kinney (Nashville, Tenn.) chipped in with nine points and six boards.
The Gulls raced out to an early 9-0 advantage to begin the first three minutes of the contest. Boen nailed a three-pointer to start the game, Montagnino scored two buckets, and Kinney converted a lay-in to take the early lead.
The Golden Bears later responded and took control of the half via a 14-5 stretch to take its largest lead of the stanza, 17 points (39-22).
From there, Endicott cut the deficit to 41-28 at the break courtesy of two Boen trifectas.
Meanwhile, the Blue and Green continued to battle throughout the half, but the Golden Bears' largest lead came with 7:58 to play, 64-43.
With 2:20 remaining in the matchup, Boen converted a floater to cut the lead to 71-61, but WNE would halt a late comeback bid by the Gulls to snap the 12-game winning streak.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Today's game was between the best-scoring offense in the CNE (Endicott | 85.7 PPG) and the lowest points per game allowed in the conference (WNE | 67.1).
- The Gulls look to capture their first conference crown since 2015-16 in the CNE Tournament next week.
- The hosts edged the visitors' on the glass, 36-34.
- Endicott created seven turnovers, which translated to 10 points on the offensive end.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (18-7, 15-3 CNE) earned the second seed in next week's CNE Tournament. The Gulls will wait for their next opponent on Thursday at 7:30 PM inside MacDonald Gymnasium in the semifinal round against the winner of No. 3 Suffolk/No. 6 Wentworth.
Western New England (19-6, 15-3 CNE) secured the first seed in the CNE Tournament. The Golden Bears will remain at Alumni Healthful Living Center on Thursday evening against the winner of No. 4 Roger Williams/No. 5 Nichols.
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(Photo Credit - Kaeli Talora '25)
