NCAA TOURNAMENT: No. 11 Gulls Edge No. 23 Red Dragons In Second Round Playoff Classic, 58-57

NCAA PRESS CONFERENCE

BEVERLY, Mass. – The No. 11 nationally ranked Endicott men's basketball team defeated No. 23 SUNY Cortland, 58-57, in NCAA Tournament Second Round action on Saturday night in front of a packed house at MacDonald Gymnasium.  

Tied 50-50 with 5:13 to play, the Gulls clamped down defensively, holding Cortland to a 2-for-8 showing from the field to punch their ticket to the Sweet 16.

Marcus Montagnino (Gloucester, Mass.) paced all scorers with 26 points (9-16 FG, 1-3 3PT, 7-10 FT) alongside nine rebounds, two assists, and a block.

Elijah Kinney (Nashville, Tenn.) also compiled 10 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block in the victory. The double-double was his 19th this season, which ranks second in NCAA D3.

Matt Boen (Mansfield, Mass.) rounded out the list of double-digit scorers with 13 points.

SECOND HALF

The aforementioned trio took over the game on both ends of the floor with the matchup tied at 50-all.

Montagnino led the offense, scoring six of the team's eight points down the stretch.

Kinney also was a force on the defensive end (three rebounds, one steal), while Boen's all-around play helped seal the program's second-ever trip to the Sweet 16.

Montagnino started the scoring late in the matchup with free throw makes at 3:57 (52-50), and Boen followed with a hard-earned trip to the line himself, executing in a similar fashion (3:30, 54-50).

Cortland answered back, tying the game at 54-all via a layup (3:17) and two free throws (2:09).

Montagnino countered with a tough take at the 1:59 mark and swished a pair of free throws with 1:09 remaining on the scoreboard (58-54).

The Red Dragons punched back, yet again, this time with a make on a contested three-pointer to bring the game within one point (58-57, 0:45).

Cortland then had two chances to find the game-winner, but the Gulls denied the visitors both times in gritty fashion – emblematic of their nickname.

Boen had the first stop, slipping away from his defensive position near the free throw line before rejecting the first go-ahead chance in emphatic fashion with 0.4 ticks on the clock.

Following an Endicott 30-second timeout, Liam Dunfee (Nahant, Mass.) used every bit of his 6-6 frame to defend the baseline inbound, not allowing the Red Dragons to get into their set play efficiently.

Montagnino and Boen held down their end of the bargain on a low-post action and screen near the left wing before Cam Keliher (South Hampton, N.H.) contested the second potential game-winner just enough to send the MacDonald Gymnasium crowd into pandemonium.

FIRST HALF

The opening stanza featured two ties and six lead changes, as neither team was able to manufacture a double-digit advantage in the tightly contested matchup.

Endicott raced out to its largest margin on the scoreboard just 5:41 into the action (13-5) behind an early hot hand from Boen once again. The sophomore guard scored eight of the team's 13 points, highlighted by a pair of threes.

Following the media timeout at 11:06, the Gulls were able to produce the second-largest differential of the half, 17-10, with 8:39 remaining before each team traded haymakers the rest of the way.

The final five minutes featured four lead changes, but the last pendulum swing favored Endicott as Kinney connected on a buzzer-beating tip-in to head into the locker room up by one, 31-30.

Montagnino and Boen tied for the half-high in points with 10 each to highlight an offense that shot 52.2% from the field (12-23).

Endicott led for 14:11 in the first half, and held a slim 16-14 margin in the painted area.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Tonight's matchup was the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
• Endicott led for 24:07 of tonight's contest.
• The playoff classic featured a total of eight ties and 10 lead changes (2-6, 1st Half | 6-4, 2nd Half).
• The largest lead in the second half was only four points.
• Both teams ended the game even in the paint, 30-30.
• Neither squad had a scoring run larger than six points, both of which came in the first half.
• Montagnino has scored 20 or more points in five straight games (20 times total).
• The Gulls are 16-0 at home this season (program record home victories).

WHAT'S NEXT

No. 11 Endicott (28-1) will play Illinois Wesleyan (25-4) in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament next weekend (date, time, location TBD).

No. 23 Cortland sees its 2025-26 campaign come to a close at 24-5. 

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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)