Men's Basketball on to ECAC Semifinals after 112-104 Win over Castleton

CASTLETON, Vt. – The Endicott men's basketball team played a fast-paced game against Castleton State in the quarterfinal round of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England Tournament and came out on top, 112-104, to move on to face the #2 seed Johnson & Wales on Saturday, March 8^th in Providence, Rhode Island. Playing as the #6 seed in the tournament, Endicott upset the #3 Castleton State to reach the semifinals.

The Gulls (18-9) are playing in their third ECAC Tournament in the program's 20-year history and this is their first appearance since the 2006-07 season. Endicott has never made it into the championship game with semifinal appearances in 2003 and 2007. Endicott has not played Johnson & Wales since the 2001-02 season. The Gulls are 13-1 all-time against the Wildcat program with their lone loss coming in 1997. Johnson & Wales will enter Saturday's game coming off an 87-67 victory over Elms in the quarterfinals as the Wildcats own a 21-7 overall record.

In Wednesday's victory over Castleton State, six Gulls reached double figures with junior guard John Henault (Lunenburg, Mass.) scoring 18 points with seven rebounds and three assists to lead his team. Graduate student Lachlan Magee (Melbourne, Australia) moved into fifth place on Endicott's all-time scoring list with 1,251 career points after pouring in 17 on 6-of-9 shooting including 2-of-3 from three-point range and 3-of-5 at the free throw line. Freshman forward Daquan Sampson (Germantown, Md.) was one rebound shy of a double-double, as Endicott's standout freshman totaled 12 points and nine boards with a block in just 12 minutes. Henault, Magee, and Sampson were Endicott's three starters in double figures.

Off the bench, freshman guard Kamahl Walker (Worcester, Mass.) dropped 15 points with five boards, four assists, a block, and a steal. Junior forward Andre Makris (Southbury, Conn.) turned in an efficient game with 14 points on 6-of-9 field goal attempts with three rebounds and two assists and fellow forward Tell White (New Castle, N.H.) recorded his first double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 boards.

Castleton State was led by a pair of offensive outbursts by sophomore forward Chad Copeland (Plainfield, Vt.) and junior forward Carnelius Green (Oviedo, Fla.) who combined for 57 points in the loss. Copeland scored 34 points on 16-of-25 shooting with five rebounds and two blocks while Green hit 9-of-14 attempts from the floor includuing two three's for 23 points, nine boards, four steals, and two assists. Troy Davine (Rutland, Vt.) came off the bench to add 17 points with four caroms, four steals, and three assists.

Endicott dominated the boards, outrebounding the Spartans 56-39 as their 18 offensive boards led to 23 second chance points. The Gulls also controlled the paint with 60 of their points coming down low. On the fast-break, Endicott was strong as well with 18 points. As a team, the Gulls hit 50.0% (40-of-80) of their field goals but just 25.0% (5-of-20) from beyond the arc. Endicott made up for it with an 87.1% rate at the free throw line (27-of-31). 

The Gulls held a lead as large as 23 points with 18:15 remaining in the second half but Castleton State mounted a late comeback bid, pulling to within four at 106-102 following a Copeland layup with 1:09 remaining. Down the stretch, however, buckets by Makris and Walker as well as free throws by Walker and White helped punch their ticket into the next round of the ECAC Tournament.

2014 ECAC DIII NEW ENGLAND MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

Quarterfinals • Wednesday, March 5
#8 Plymouth State (13-13) at #1 Nichols (22-6) – NC 82, PSU 65
#7 Elms (15-12) at #2 Johnson & Wales (20-7), 7:30 p.m.
#6 Endicott (17-9) at #3 Castleton State (19-8), 7:30 p.m.
#5 Lasell (16-11) at #4 Salve Regina (17-10) – LC 78, SRU 70

Semifinals • Saturday, March 8*
#5 Lasell (17-11) vs #1 Nichols (23-6), TBA
#6 Endicott (18-9) at #2 Johnson & Wales (21-7), TBA

Championship Game • Sunday, March 9*
Semifinal Winners, TBA 

*Games will be hosted by Johnson & Wales