King's Point, N.Y. – Aaron Karkow (Uncasville, Conn.) came off the bench to score 24 points in 18 minutes to lead the Endicott men's basketball team over the United States Merchant Marine Academy, 86-74 to take the King's Point Holiday Tournament.
Karkow and Lance Greene (Dorchester, Mass.) were both named to the All-Tournament team while freshman Lachlan Magee (Melbourne, Australia), who averaged 17.0 ppg and 6.0 rpg, earned MVP honors.
The 6'6" Karkow was nearly perfect from the field, hitting 9-of-12 attempts including all four three point attempts and both free throw attempts. He did most of his damage in the first half, scoring 19 of his 24 points as he helped the Gulls claim a 44-37 halftime lead. The junior added five rebounds, a block and an assist before fouling out of the game in the second half.
Magee and Greene proved to be forces in the Endicott backcourt with 15 and 11 points each, but freshman Jordan Lewis' (Windsor, Conn.) 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting in 32 minutes proved to be a difference-maker. Lewis created offensive opportunities with three assists, tying for a game-high with Magee, and added a steal.
The Mariners held a 17-14 lead with 11:11 remaining in the first half, but a 10-2 run by the Gulls pushed the momentum Endicott's way. Karkow scored nine of those 10 points on two free throws, two jumpers, and a three-pointer. Endicott went on to stretch their first half lead to as large as 11 points before settling on a seven-point halftime advantage.
In the second half, Gulls freshman Bennett Knowlton (Shrewsbury, Mass.) scored all 11 of his points off the bench with four rebounds and an assist to lead Endicott's offense in the period. He hit 8-of-10 attempts from the charity stripe in the final 1:06 of the game to put the Merchant Marine Academy away. Knowlton added a three-point attempt earlier in the stanza.
Endicott held a second half lead of 12 points with 13:41 left in the game before a 9-0 run cut the lead to three. The Gulls regained momentum to hold a double-digit advantage for most of the remainder of the game.
The Mariners were led by Matt Hueber (Alexandria, Va.) and Tom Izzo (Bridgeport, W.V.) who scored 25 and 21 points, respectively. Hueber was 10-of-16 from the field and 5-of-7 from the free throw line while Izzo was 8-of-14 and 5-of-7 from the charity stripe. Hueber added 11 rebounds to complete the double-double. The only other Mariner in double figures was Richard Roach (Monticello, Ind.) who netted 12 points and grabbed six rebounds.
The Gulls shot 50.0% (29-of-58) from the floor, 50.0% (6-of-12) from beyond the arc, and 68.8% (22-of-32) at the free throw line.
The Blue and Green will return to action on Thursday, January 6th in Beverly as the Gulls take on Emmanuel College at 7:00 pm.