Endicott Advances to CCC Semifinals with First Round Win

2015 CCC Tournament Interactive Bracket

BEVERLY, Mass. – In CCC Men's Basketball Quarterfinal action, #2 Endicott advanced past #7 Western New England by a score of 76-52 and will meet the third-seeded Eastern Nazarene Lions in the conference semifinals on Thursday, February 26^th. Tip-off will be at 7:00 p.m. inside MacDonald Gymnasium as the Gulls and Lions meet for the third time this season.

Endicott (21-5) got a game-high 22 points from sophomore and All-CCC Second Team guard Max Motroni (West Warwick, R.I.) who made 6-of-9 shots from the floor including 3-of-4 three-point attempts and all seven free throws to help the Gulls gain separation in the second half after settling on 32-32 halftime score. Motroni, who also grabbed four rebounds and distributed three assists, was part of an 11-of-24 team shooting performance from behind the three-point line.

Sophomore guard Kamahl Walker (Worcester, Mass.), who was named CCC Co-Player of the Year and All-CCC First Team earlier in the day, factored into that offensive efficiency from long range by knocking down 3-of-4 three-point attempts en route to 14 points, four rebounds, and four assists. All-CCC Second Team senior guard and captain John Henault (Lunenburg, Mass.) also drained two three-point attempts as he reached double figures with 13 points.

Henault's first two points of the game, a pair of free throw makes at the 17:10 mark of the first half, moved him into second place on Endicott's all-time scoring list as he leaped over former Gull standout Nemanja Marinkovic '07. Henault currently has 1,452 points for his stellar four-year collegiate career.

While Endicott was able to control second-half action and walk away with a 24-point win over Western New England, the Golden Bears played a strong first half by limited the Gulls to just 29% shooting overall. Offensively for Western New England, junior center Zach Askew (Middletown, Conn.) was a presence down low with eight points, three rebounds, and a block while senior forward Musa Elsir (Springfield, Mass.) did his damage from the outside with eight points courtesy of 2-of-3 from downtown.

Both Askew and Elsir, however, would only contribute two points apiece in the second half as Western New England (8-18) leaned on three-point shooting from other sources to attempt to maintain pace with the Gulls. The Golden Bears made just 2-of-17 three-point attempts in the second period and shot just 18% overall.

Western New England would get a team-high 12 points from sophomore and All-CCC Second Team guard Mike Gelineau (Waltham, Mass.) who also totaled four boards and three steals. Graduate student guard Nick DeFeo (Southington, Conn.), Askew, and Elsir all had 10 points in the loss. Elsir and Endicott senior forward Tell White (New Castle, N.H.) would end up with a game-high seven rebounds.

Gulls sophomore forward Daquan Sampson (Germantown, Md.) was a major factor in Endicott's second half dominance as the lanky big man turned in a stat line of nine points, five rebounds, and a block. Two of his points came with under five minutes remaining on a thunderous, fast-break dunk off some strong defense from Motroni and an eventual steal by Henault.

Stephen Basden (Lynn, Mass.) came off the bench to knock down a three late in the game while factoring into Endicott's 44-39 rebounding advantage with six caroms including three on the offensive glass. Andre Makris (Southbury, Conn.) added five points, two rebounds, and a block in 13 minutes off the bench.

Endicott would shoot 43% from the field for the game, 46% (11-of-24) from three-point range, and 81% (17-of-21) at the line compared to a 30%/19%/78% split from Western New England.