Gulls Repeat as CCC Champions

Beverly, MA - In the finale of an exciting Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament, Endicott the 1st seed in the North, defeated the visiting Roger Williams the 1st seed in the South, 71-59 in front of a loud, supportive EC crowd. The Championship win marks the first time the program has won back-to-back Conference Titles, and the third time EC has won the Title game.

Endicott opened with a 6-0 run and never trailed in the game. The Gulls forced 23 Hawk turnovers, stealing the ball 12 times. The first half scoring was capped off with a very long trey by Josh Oxton, giving Endicott a 35-27 lead at the half.

The Hawks battled back to narrow the lead to two points late in the second half (52-50) but were unable to take the lead. The Gulls rallied for a 9-0 run which included a huge three-pointer by junior Zack Ellis. With an 11 point margin at the 4:02 mark, the Gulls pulled away and did not look back.

For the Gulls, Ellis and sophomore Nemanja Marinkovic each had 13 points apiece. Sophomores Michael Sullivan and Samuel Evans chipped in 11 and 10 points respectively. Sullivan also helped out of defense, with three steals. Oxton was the game's assist leader, dishing out nine, and tallying nine points.

Roger Williams was led offensively by freshman guard Ben Camobreco (Duxbury, MA) with 20 points and junior forward Andrew Viana (Bristol, RI) with 13. Junior guard Ryan Keaton was the game's leading rebounder with eight boards.

With the win Endicott (22-5) receives an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, playing the opening round next Thursday. Roger Williams (15-12) awaits a potential ECAC tournament bid.