BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott men's basketball team halted a three-game losing skid by defeating Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) opponent Curry by a score of 81-72 and improved their season record to 15-8 overall, 9-7 in conference play.
The Gulls were efficient as an offensive unit, making 60.5% of their shots from the floor which included 4-of-5 three-point attempts and converting 25-of-34 (73.5%) free-throw attempts.
Endicott got a game-high 18 points from freshman guard Kamahl Walker (Worcester, Mass.) and another 14 points from graduate student Lachlan Magee (Melbourne, Australia). Walker stuffed the stat sheet with six rebounds and a season-high six assists but did factor into Endicott's turnover woes with six miscues. As a team, the Gulls had 33 turnovers with Curry committing 21 turnovers of their own.
Despite Walker and Magee's offensive output as well as near double-digit efforts by junior forward Andre Makris (Southbury, Conn.) with nine points and eight points apiece by Henault and sophomore guard Chris Light (Derry, N.H.), it was Endicott's defensive presence that was integral in creating a large halftime deficit for the Colonels.
Nine team blocks, four by Makris, and 13 team steals, three for both Chris Lipscomb (West Springfield, Mass.) and Stephen Basden (Lynn, Mass.) led to 17 points off turnovers. The Gulls were also able to contain the CCC's leading scorer, Curry senior guard Lambros Papalambros (Quincy, Mass.) who made just three of his 10 attempts from the floor with two free throws for a total of eight points. Papalambros did however grab four rebounds, dish three assists, and make two steals.
Curry's offense, after trailing 48-26 at the half, came from junior guard Antonio Jones (Dorchester, Mass.) and senior guard Carlos Ribeiro (Charlestown, Mass.) who poured in 17 and 15 points, respectively, in the game. Off the bench, Curry sophomore Alex Kershaw (Boston, Mass.) contributed with 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting including 2-of-3 from three-point range and 4-of-6 at the line.
In the second half, Curry trailed by 25 points at 72-47 with just under eight minutes to play in the game. Over the final 7:52 of regulation, the Colonels would hold the Gulls to just nine points while scoring 25 points and pulling within eight points of the lead with 1:38 remaining.
With the score 80-72 in favor of the Gulls, Curry had an opportunity to pull even closer after a pair of free throws misses by Walker at the line but an offensive foul and missed shots down the stretch kept the Gulls in the lead for good.
Five players tied for a game-high six rebounds. Walker, Matt Kneece (Shrewsbury, Mass.), and Daquan Sampson (Germantown, Md.) for Endicott and A.J. Stephens (Stamford, Conn.) and Paul Preziosi (Quincy, Mass.) for Curry.
The Gulls will be back in action on Tuesday, February 18th when they take on Wentworth (11-12, 8-8 CCC) who is coming off a loss at Roger Williams. Endicott defeated Wentworth 78-77 in overtime back on January 23rd. Curry (4-19, 3-13 CCC) will play their final home game of the regular season on Tuesday evening against CCC bottom dweller University of New England who lost to Nichols by 27 on Saturday. (Recap courtesy of Endicott Sports Information)
