NCAA TOURNAMENT: No. 11 Endicott Falls To Illinois Wesleyan, 83-77

NCAA PRESS CONFERENCE -- (Endicott portion at 19:20)

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — The No. 11 nationally ranked Endicott men's basketball team fell to No. 8 Illinois Wesleyan, 83-77, in Friday evening's NCAA Third Round matchup at the Shirk Center.

Matt Boen (Mansfield, Mass.) poured in a team-high 25 points (8-14 FG, 3-9 3PT, 6-8 FT) and snagged four rebounds, dished out three assists, and picked up two steals in 36 minutes of action.

Marcus Montagnino (Gloucester, Mass.) ended his night with 22 points (8-21 FG, 1-4 3PT, 5-6 FT), 10 boards, and three dimes. Eighteen of his 22 points came in the second half.

Elijah Kinney (Nashville, Tenn.) was the only other Gull in double-figures with his 12-point (4-10 FG, 2-6 3PT, 2-2 FT), eight-rebound affair.

SECOND HALF

The Gulls began to chip away at a large deficit, and began the half on a 35-28 run. 

Boen capped the run with a strong, off-hand, and-one finish at the rim to bring the Gulls back to within two possessions (66-61).

When the Titans began to push the game seemingly out of reach, the Gulls strung together another big spurt to close the gap once more.

Down 73-61 with 4:43 remaining, Boen and Montagnino kept the Gulls alive with some tough finishes at the rim, efficient free throw shooting, and some timely long range precision. Montagnino escaped for a layup down low to bring the Gulls to back within two possessions once more (81-75) with 47 seconds on the clock.

With the full court press on late, Caden Sullivan (Franklin, Mass.) poked out a Titans inbound pass, and secured possession for Endicott.

Boen dished off a slick feed down low to a wide-open Montagnino to make it a four-point game (81-77) with 27 seconds remaining.

An empty trip to the line for the Titans gave Endicott possession back with 23 seconds remaining. However, the Gulls were unable to convert another basket, and after fouling late, the Titans secured the 83-77 victory after a two-for-two trip to the charity stripe.

FIRST HALF

It took a little while for the Gulls to find their footing out of the gate, but Jeff Hill (Lynn, Mass.) eventually knocked down the first field goal of the day for the Blue and Green with a second-chance triple five minutes into the contest, which drew it to a 6-5 contest in favor of the hosts.

The Titans expanded their early advantage, but Caden Sullivan (Franklin, Mass.) snapped an 8-3 run with a scoop and score at midcourt, intercepting an errant Titan pass and converting at the other end.

However, the Gulls' shooting woes continued, and they found themselves down 38-26 as the halftime buzzer sounded. Some late sharpshooting in the half from Cam Keliher (South Hampton, N.H.) kept the Gulls from a further deficit. 

Kinney led the way with six points and five rebounds over the opening 20.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• First-ever meeting between the two programs.
• The Titans outshot the Gulls 53.6% to 25.0% in the first stanza.
• Montagnino surpassed Keith Brown '20 for the most points scored in program single-season history (669).
• Endicott saw its record-breaking 22-game winning streak come to an end.
• Boen and Montagnino combined for 39 of Endicott's 51 second-half points.

WHAT'S NEXT

No. 8 Illinois Wesleyan (26-4) advances to the NCAA Quarterfinal round and takes on No. 2 Emory on Thursday, March 19 (time TBD).

No. 11 Endicott (28-2) sees its 2025-26 campaign come to a close after a historic run. 

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

(Photo Credit - Kayleigh Wieska)