BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott men's basketball team celebrated Senior Night with an 85-67 victory over Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) rival Wentworth on Wednesday evening, rallying behind a 16-point game from graduate student guard Lachlan Magee (Melbourne, Australia) and another eight points and two assists from senior guard Greg Jacques (Brockton, Mass.).
Endicott (16-8, 10-7 CCC) continued their push for the fourth seed in the upcoming CCC Tournament as the Blue and Green look to host a quarterfinal game on Tuesday, February 25th. The team's regular season finale will be on Saturday, February 22nd on the road at Western New England. The Gulls handed Western New England a 82-76 defeat back on January 18th behind 18 and 17-point efforts from Magee and junior guard John Henault (Lunenburg, Mass.).
Wentworth (11-13, 8-9 CCC) dropped into a tie with Roger Williams for the sixth seed in the conference tournament with one game remaining. The Leopards will host CCC leader Nichols on Saturday, February 22ndwith a 3:00 pm tip-off. Wentworth fell 75-63 to Nichols back on January 18th in Dudley despite a team-high 16 points from freshman guard Jherson Colon (Boston, Mass.).
The two teams battled through to halftime with Endicott barely clinging to a 36-35 halftime advantage. Tied 47-47 five minutes into the second half, the Gulls made a push to take command of the game with a 7-0 run to make it 54-47 with 12:33 to go. Wentworth pulled back within three at 60-57 after a three-point make by Mayo with 9:14 remaining in the second half. Endicott stormed back to take a 10-point lead after a Chris Lipscomb (West Springfield, Mass.) fast-break layup off an assist from Henault made it 70-60 with 7:14 left. The Gulls continued to click offensively and took their biggest lead of the game at 81-65 after Kneece buried a two-handed dunk to force a Leopards timeout. With 3:47 left, Endicott took time off the clock and claimed the 85-67 win.
Wentworth had three starters in double figures in Wednesday game against Endicott as senior guard Derek Mayo (Casco, Maine) and junior guard Ray Bessette (Dedham, Maine) matched Magee with a game-high 16 points. Leopards sophomore forward Cam Sennick (Wilton, Maine) added 15 points in the loss.
Joining Magee with double-digit points was Henault who dropped 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting which included two three-pointers and a perfect 3-of-3 at the free throw line. The Gulls showcased a balanced offense that shot 53.1% from the floor and totaled 20 assists on 34 made baskets. Freshman guard Kamahl Walker(Worcester, Mass.) off the bench scored nine points while both Jacques and freshman forward Daquan Sampson(Germantown, Md.) netted eight as starters.
Endicott freshman guard Max Motroni (West Warwick, R.I.) helped facilitate the offense with a team-high four assists while adding six points of his own. Ten other players recorded an assist for Endicott including all five starters.
The Gulls held a 42-33 rebounding advantage thanks in large part to a game-high 11 boards from junior forward Tell White (New Castle, N.H.) who also factored in offensively with four points and three assists. Six rebounds came from Sampson and five apiece from Walker and junior big man Matt Kneece(Shrewsbury, Mass.).
Wentworth's leading rebounder was Mayo who hauled in seven caroms while also dishing three assists and forcing three steals. Off the bench, junior forward John-Michael Fragnoli (Scotia, N.Y.) got five of his six rebounds on the offensive glass.