Endicott Holds off Men's Basketball

BOSTON, Mass. – Endicott College's Marcus Montagnino tallied a team-high 22 points to lead four Gull student-athletes in double figures as Endicott fended off a late comeback by Wentworth Institute of Technology, 85-84, in Conference of New England play Saturday afternoon.

Tyler Stewart lead all scorers with 24 points – 17 in the second half – on 10-for-12 shooting to go along with eight rebounds, three assists, and four blocks for the Leopards (1-10, 0-4 CNE). The Gulls improve to 6-5 (3-1) with the win.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• A pair of ties early in the contest eventually led to a 12-2 Endicott run which put the Gulls on top, 16-6, after a Drew Brown jumper. Despite a jumper from Niko Rosich trimming the lead back to single digits, Endicott extended its lead to 25-9 with 10:35 left on a three pointer from Joey DaSilva.
• Wentworth clawed its way back and pulled to within 10 (28-18) on a Jack Connell jumper just over two minutes later and got within seven (36-29) on a layup from Connell with 2:57 to play. The Gulls used a 13-6 spurt, capped off by a buzzer beater from Montagnino, to take a 49-35 lead at the break. Both teams shot well in the first half with the Gulls connecting on 63.6 percent of the shots and the Leopards shooting 53.8 percent from the floor.
• Endicott maintained a double-digit lead early in the second half before the Black & Gold outscored the Gulls, 20-8, over a stretch of nearly 10 minutes and pulled within two off a Stewart free throw. During the run, Stewart and Connell each scored seven points.
• After Elijah Kinney made a layup to put Endicott ahead by four, Nathan Brinkman made a layup, and, after Connell caused a turnover, he fed Stewart for a transition layup, tying the score at 73-all with 3:36 left. Jeff Hill hit a three on the next possession to put the Gulls back on top, and after a blocked shot, Cam Keliher got his own rebound and hit a three to put the visitors ahead by six with 1:52 left.
• Russell Dolabany answered with a three of his own, however, Montagnino hit two free throws, pushing the lead to five. A converted third-chance opportunity by Stewart pulled Wentworth back to within three with 47 seconds left.
• Endicott had a pair of chances to extend its lead, however, Stewart came up with blocks on both attempts. On the second one, Rosich got the rebound with 17 seconds left. Out of a timeout, the Leopards turned the ball over and quickly fouled Hill, who hit both from the charity stripe with 10 seconds left. Brinkman buried a three with three seconds left, cutting the lead to two. On the inbound, Montagnino was fouled and hit both free throws with 1.5 seconds left to make it 85-81. Connell hit a three as time expired to close out the game.
• Kinney added 16, Brown, 15, and Hill 14 for the Gulls.
• In addition to Stewart's 24 points, Connell scored 23 points and dished out six assists, Dolabany had 12 points and six assists, and Brinkman added 12 points of his own. The Leopards shot 58.6 percent in the second half and 56.4 percent for the game, while winning the battle of the boards, 31-28.

ALL-TIME SERIES:

• Today was the 49th all-time meeting between the two teams.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth hosts Curry in a Conference of New England contest on Tuesday.

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