Gulls Embark on CCC Title Defense

Nov. 17, 2005

BEVERLY, MA - A new era in Endicott men's basketball begins Friday night but first-year head coach Chris Millette is hoping to perpetuate the Gulls' winning tradition.

Millette inherits an Endicott team that has back-to-back Commonwealth Coast Conference titles, eclipsing the 20-win plateau each time. The Gulls are pursuing its eighth straight winning season and will have to face a grueling schedule before Christmas.

The Gulls, who finished 22-6 including a school-best 15-1 in the CCC, begin their season Friday night versus Amherst College at the Amherst Tip Off Classic. The Gulls will also face perennial powers Keene State, Bates College, Wesleyan, WPI and Wheaton College before the break.

Endicott will need a point guard to emerge if it wants to keep building upon its past success. Josh Oxton's (Center Harbor, NH/New Hampton) graduation leaves a big hole at point guard where he holds the all-time EC record for assists (434) and became the ninth player in Endicott history to eclipse the 1,000-point mark.

Oxton, who was a first-team all-conference player, James Leveque (Brockton, MA), Carlos Nunez (Lawrence, MA) and Matt Born (Watertown, MA) leave a leadership void that must be filled by the only two seniors on the team - Matt George (Dover, NH/Dover) and Zach Ellis (Westford, MA/Westfield Academy).

Both players can score in bunches as well as distribute the ball and play tenacious defense. Ellis established a new record for three-point shots made in a year (89) and ranked 29th in the country in the category while his 42.4 percent success rate beyond the arc ranked 20th nationally.

George had another monster year in 2004-2005, shooting a school-record 59.7 percent from the field to earn CCC first-team all-conference honors. He led the team in steals and ranked second on the team in points, assists and blocks. He shot 49.3 percent from three-point range and 84.1 percent from the foul line.

Nemanja Marinkovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Montenegro/Second Baptist, Houston TX) heads up an extremely talented junior class. Marinkovic was a third-team all-star who led the in rebounding and was the third-leading scorer. Marinkovic along with fellow juniors Michael Sullivan (Marshfield, MA/Marshfield), Sam Evans (Philadelphia, PA/Hyde Leadership School), Matt Hotin (Brookline, NH/Hollis-Brookline) and Mike Lambert (Rochester, NH/Spaulding) helped the Gulls limit opponents to 39 percent shooting ranking them 32nd in Division III.

Evans established the school record for blocks in a season (35) and ranked second in rebounds while Sullivan shot a team-best 63 percent from the field. However, the group suffered a big loss in Evans, the 6-foot-6 forward who will miss the entire season with stress fractures in his foot. But Lambert is a dogged rebounder that has the potential for a breakout season while Hotin will provide Endicott with depth off the bench.

Sophomore Todd Burton (Lynn, MA/St. Mary's) will see time at both the point and the 2 positions. He provided EC with tremendous depth last year, but coach Millette is looking for Burton to emerge as a leader. Gary Corbett (Danbury, CT/Danbury), who is the only other EC sophomore, is a pure shooter that can play beyond the arc and on the block.

Newcomers Brandon Diaz (Hartford, CT/Northwest Catholic) and Francis Mayi (Lawrence, MA/Lawrence) will see time as freshmen while Joe Burgos (Lawrence, MA/Lawrence) dislocated his thumb during the preseason but should be in the mix as well.