Montagnino's Game-Winner Leads No. 14 Men's Basketball Past Roger Williams, 84-83

BRISTOL, R.I. — The No. 14 nationally ranked Endicott men's basketball team erased a late deficit to top Roger Williams, 84-83, in Tuesday evening's Conference of New England (CNE) matchup at Campus Rec Center Gymnasium.

Marcus Montagnino (Gloucester, Mass.) poured in 29 points (11-20 FG, 7-8 FT), 11 rebounds, four assists, and two steals in the win. Most importantly, he drilled the go-ahead fadeaway midrange shot to give Endicott its first lead of the night with 2.1 seconds remaining.

Matt Boen (Mansfield, Mass.) scored 17 points (6-8 FG, 2-4 3PT), hauled down four rebounds, snagged two steals and a block in his 30 minutes.

Caden Sullivan (Franklin, Mass.) also netted 16 points (6-11 FG, 4-6 3PT) while grabbing four rebounds, two steals, and dishing out four dimes.

Cam Keliher (South Hampton, N.H.) was the final double-digit scorer, as he provided 14 points (5-9 FG, 3-6 3PT), five rebounds, and a steal from off the bench.

After trailing by as much as 12 in the first half, the Gulls inched their way back and got to within three (45-42) heading into the break. Montagnino, Keliher, and Sullivan each entered the break with 10+ points.

Then, out of halftime, Boen drilled a catch-and-shoot triple to even the score, 47-47.

The two teams traded baskets for several minutes, and eventually between the 14:02-11:20 marks, the Hawks went on a mini run to regain a seven point lead (64-57).

They continued to seemingly pull away from the Gulls, going up by 10 (79-69) with 3:56 remaining.

The Gulls surmounted their unlikely comeback with a pair of Sullivan three-pointers, an Elijah Kinney (Nashville, Tenn.) slam dunk, and a couple of converted Montagnino free throws. Suddenly, the Hawks were up just one (83-82) with 44 seconds remaining. 

After a huge defensive stand on a sequence that involved a monster block from Kinney and a loose ball rebound by Montagnino, coach Kevin Bettencourt called timeout with about six seconds remaining.

Out of the timeout, the Gulls found Montagnino. He went to work on the baseline, and after being met with some resistance down low, he stepped back, pulled up with a turnaround jumper from just below the left elbow, and drilled his midrange fadeaway to put the Gulls in front for the first time all day.

Roger Williams used its final timeout, but turned the ball over to Montagnino at midcourt, sealing the wild road victory for Endicott.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Endicott leads the all-time series, 39-12.
• The 13 game winning streak is one shy of the program record (14), which was set in the 2014-15 season and the 2003-04 season.
• After today's 29-point performance, Montagnino is just 10 shy of 1,000 for his career.
• Second consecutive 14-point affair for Keliher.
• Roger Williams led for 91.8% of the contest, as opposed to Endicott's 0.1%.

WHAT'S NEXT

No. 14 Endicott (19-1, 11-0 CNE) welcomes Johnson & Wales to MacDonald Gymnasium this Saturday for a 3 PM CNE tipoff. Roger Williams (11-10, 7-5 CNE) heads to Western New England next Wednesday for a 7:30 PM CNE matchup in Springfield. 

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

(Photo Credit - Bradley Griffin '28)