BEVERLY, Mass. – Sophomore center Matt Kneece (Shrewsbury, Mass.) recorded his first collegiate double-double in Endicott's 74-50 non-conference victory over Wheelock on Thursday evening, scoring 11 points with 11 rebounds to lead the Blue and Green. Eight of Kneece's 11 boards were on the offensive glass as the Gulls, as a team, outrebounded Wheelock 55-32 in the game.
The Gulls improved to 4-1 overall on the season and took a 3-2 series lead over Wheelock with their first ever meeting coming in 2007. The Wildcats dropped to 1-6 despite a game-high 24 points from leading scorer senior Bashir Hudson (Jamaica Plain, Mass.) who added 10 rebounds with a block and a steal for the visitors.
The Gulls also saw senior guard Lance Greene (Dorchester, Mass.) climbed to within 10 points of 1,000 for his collegiate career after Greene scored 12 points against the Wildcats. Greene looks to become the ninth player in Endicott men's basketball history to accomplish the career milestone when the Gulls visit Clark (Mass.) on Saturday, December 8th for a 1:00 pm tip-off.
Endicott got a 15-point game from junior guard Lachlan Magee (Melbourne, Australia) who continued his strong start to the 2012-13 season, averaging 16.8 points per game. Sophomore guard John Henault (Lunenburg, Mass.) nearly had a double-double of his own with 10 points and nine rebounds.
After scoring the first seven points of the game, Endicott raced out to a 14-point lead at 18-4 just 8:34 into the opening half. The Gulls maintained a double-digit lead for much of the half until the final seconds when Hudson's long-range three dropped in to cut the Endicott lead down to single digits at 33-25 heading into the break.
The Gulls quickly regained momentum with a 10-0 run to start the second half which included a steal and fast-break layup by Greene down the other end. Endicott took advantage of a 32.3 FG% by the Wildcats in the second half to build a 20-point advantage before claiming a 74-50 win.
Off the bench, junior guard Tyler Burkhart (Cromwell, Conn.) scored seven points with freshman guard Eddie Danek (Suffield, Conn.) adding six points.
Wheelock's Rashaan Powell (Dorchester, Mass.) scored eight points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field with five rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal. Senior guard Daniel Higgins (Wakefield, Mass.) added seven points with two assists, a block and a steal in the loss.
The Wildcats will next face conference rival Becker on Saturday, December 8th. Tip-off is at 3:00 pm.