Max Motroni's Career-High 25 Points and Daquan Sampson's Fifth Double-Double Powers Gulls To 81-61 Win At Curry

MILTON, Mass. – The Endicott men's basketball team secured an 81-61 road victory at Curry Tuesday night in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action inside Dr. Eleanor Meyerhoff Gymnasium behind a career-high 25 point night for junior guard Max Motroni (West Warwick, R.I.) and junior forward Daquan Sampson's (Germantown, Md.) fifth double-double of the season.

With the win, the Gulls improved to 6-5 overall and 3-1 in conference play, while Curry fell to 0-11 on the season and 0-4 in the CCC.

The Colonels led by as much as seven, up 19-12, with 11:01 to play in the half, but the Gulls rallied for a 28-27 lead on Stephen Basden's (Lynn, Mass.) jumper at the 6:28 mark and then pulled ahead for good, 31-30, on Sampson's free throw with 4:26 to play and never trailed again in the game.

Endicott took a 42-34 advantage into halftime as junior guard Kamahl Walker (Worcester, Mass.) scored all 18 of his points on the night in the first 17 of the 30 minutes he played.

Motroni set a new single-game career-high with 25 points (including 4-of-7 from three-point land) to go with eight rebounds, five assists, and one steal, while Sampson's double-double was courtesy of 18 points and 10 rebounds.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Gulls placed three student-athletes in double figures (Motroni, Sampson, Walker.)
• Walker extended his double-digit scoring streak to 23 games.
• Basden pulled down seven rebounds (his second most this season).
• Motroni added 17 points in the second half, which is the most he has scored in a single half this season.
• Endicott has now won back-to-back games for the first time all season.

FOR THE FOES

• The Colonels had three student-athletes score in double digits, as junior guard Trey Jones (Mattapan, Mass.), junior guard/forward Paul Preziosi (Quincy, Mass.), and freshman guard Rael Handy (North Easton, Mass.) led the way for Curry with 15, 13, and 10 points apiece.
• Preziosi grabbed a team-high eight boards as the Colonels got out-rebounded 44-29 by Endicott.
• Jones made a game-high 5-of-8 shots from beyond the arc.

NOTES

• The Gulls are now 19-13 all-time against Curry, as the most recent meeting before today was a 77-57 win in Milton, Mass. on Feb. 14, 2015.
• The Gulls have won five straight against the Colonels and are 10-8 on the road all-time at Curry.

WHAT'S NEXT

Both teams are back in action on Thursday, January 7 at 7:30 p.m. as Endicott (6-5, 3-1 CCC) will host Roger Williams, while Curry (0-11) takes on the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine. 

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