No. 21 Men's Basketball Handles Suffolk, 69-44

BEVERLY, Mass. — The No. 21 nationally ranked Endicott men's basketball team used a big second half to defeat Conference of New England (CNE) rival Suffolk, 69-44, in Saturday afternoon's showdown from MacDonald Gymnasium.

Elijah Kinney (Nashville, Tenn.) led the Gulls with a 21-point (8-12 FG, 5-9 FT), 18-rebound (eight offensive, 10 defensive), two-block, two-assist, and one-steal performance from the floor.

Caden Sullivan (Franklin, Mass.) posted 15 points (3-9 FG, 1-4 3PT, 8-10 FT), three steals, and two rebounds in his team-high 32 minutes played.

Marcus Montagnino (Gloucester, Mass.) and Andrew Mitchell (Roxbury, Mass.) each scored 11 points to round out Endicott's double-digit scorers. Montagnino shot 4-8 from the field (1-3 3PT, 2-2 FT), grabbed six rebounds, and snatched two steals, while Mitchell shot 4-6 from off the bench (3-4 3PT), hauled down two boards, and picked up one steal.

The first half featured gritty defense from both teams. The Rams were held to 10-28 shooting (35.7%), while the Gulls shot just 8-27 (29.6%).

Endicott battled back from an early 25-16 deficit via a 10-0 run over the final four minutes to pull in front, 26-25, heading into halftime. Back-to-back triples from Sullivan and Montagnino, a pair of free throws from Kinney, and a Montagnino floater gave the Gulls the halftime lead.

Then, in the second, the Gulls limited the Rams to just 19 points on 7-22 shooting from the field (31.8%), while they shot 16-30 (53.3%) to pull away favorably.

Suffolk hung in tough until around 11 minutes remaining. With Endicott leading by six (45-39), Kinney and Mitchell combined to go on a 15-0 spurt to push the hosts' lead all the way to 21 (60-39; 11:13-6:16 marks).

From there, the Gulls ate lots of clock, and a nice effort by the bench unit closed out the eventual 25-point, 69-44 home win. Max Grenert (Beverly, Mass.), Liam Dunfee (Nahant, Mass.), and Jack Lewis (Clinton, Mass.) made nice contributions in the final five minutes to seal the victory.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Kinney finished two rebounds shy of the program record.
• He tied his personal career high with his 18 boards.
• Mitchell's 11 points set a career high.
• The Gulls outscored the Rams 21-7 off of turnovers, and 30-16 in the paint.
• Endicott held Suffolk to a season low of 44 points.

WHAT'S NEXT

No. 21 Endicott (15-1, 7-0 CNE) heads to Curry on Tuesday for a 7:30 PM CNE contest. Suffolk (9-7, 4-2 CNE) hosts Nichols on Tuesday in a 7:30 PM CNE matchup. 

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(Photo Credit - Bradley Griffin '28)