Men's Basketball Pulls Off Comeback Over Salem State, 90-82; Kinney Nets 1,000th Career Point

BEVERLY, Mass. — The Endicott men's basketball team erased an 18-point deficit to defeat Salem State, 90-82, in Saturday afternoon's non-conference matchup from inside MacDonald Gymnasium.

Elijah Kinney (Nashville, Tenn.) set yet another career high, as he logged a monster 35-point (15-24 FG, 5-5 FT), 12-rebound (seven defensive, five offensive), and four-block performance from the floor. He also snatched a steal in his 34 minutes of action.

Marcus Montagnino (Gloucester, Mass.) flirted with a triple-double in his 36 minutes. The forward scored 20 points (7-11 FG, 6-6 FT), dished out nine assists, and snagged seven boards.

AJ Forte (Peabody, Mass.) turned in 14 points (5-10 FG, 4-7 3PT) off the bench, while Cam Keliher (South Hampton, N.H.) chipped in seven points (2-2 FG, 2-2 3PT, 1-2 FT) and four dimes in 25-plus productive bench minutes.

A poor first half shooting performance from the Gulls and a high-octane offensive output from the Vikings saw the hosts trailing by 16 (51-35) at the break.

The Gulls shot just 13-31 (41.9%) from the field and 3-11 (27.3%) from deep, while the Vikings shot a lights-out 22-36 (61.1%) from the field and 6-11 (54.5%) from downtown in the opening stanza.

In the second half, the Blue and Green started to chip away at the deficit early on, highlighted by a Caden Sullivan (Franklin, Mass.) straightaway triple (19:09, 53-38) and a tough second-chance and-one bucket from Kinney down low (18:24, 53-41).

The teams traded baskets until around the 10-minute mark, when Endicott inevitably went on its game-defining run.

The Gulls strung together a dominant 14-0 stretch (10:57-6:13) to take a five-point, 72-67, advantage on the Vikings. Forte and Kinney combined for all 14 of the Gulls' points during the spurt.

From there, the Gulls did not relent, and went up by as many as 13 (84-71, 1:53 remaining) before eventually closing out their victory by a final score of 90-82.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Gulls lead the Vikings in the all-time series, 12-6.
• With his layup at the 4:46 mark of the second half, Kinney reached the 1,000 career point plateau. He is the 19th member of the men's basketball program to achieve that milestone.
• Endicott has won each of the last seven matchups in the all-time series, dating back to 12/12/19.
• Kinney entered today's contest ranked among the national leaders in blocks (fifth), points (fourth), and rebounds (second).
• Matt Boen (Mansfield, Mass.) was a game-high +14 in plus/minus. 
• Endicott remains perfect at home this season (5-0).

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (10-1) welcomes Curry to MacDonald Gymnasium on January 3, 2026 for a Conference of New England matchup at 3 PM. Salem State (7-4) hosts Anna Maria College on Wednesday, January 7th for a 7 PM matchup.

For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

(Photo Credit - Manuel Velasquez '28)