Balanced offense leads Endicott to 96-77 win over Emmanuel

BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott men's basketball team shot 58.1% from the field with all five starters reaching double figures in a 96-77 win over GNAC foe Emmanuel (Mass.) on Tuesday evening at MacDonald Gymnasium to improve to 5-2 overall on the season. 

The Gulls close out the 2012 portion of their schedule on Saturday with a road match up against Lesley in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  Tip-off will be at 1:00 pm.  Emmanuel fell to 1-6 on the year following their fourth straight defeat.  The Saints are on a break for 18 days until they travel to West Palm Beach, Florida for the Chuck Daly Classic from December 29^th-30^th. 

Endicott stormed out to an 18-5 lead led by as many as 19 in the first half as the Blue and Green shot 62.5% from the floor as a team.  Center Matt Kneece (Shrewsbury, Mass.) needed only 15 minutes of game time in the first half to record his second double-double over the past three games the sophomore scored 10 points with 11 boards while blocking two shots.  Kneece finished the game with a career-high 14 points on a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor and 4-of-5 at the free throw line. 

Emmanuel junior forward Theo Robinson (Springfield, Mass.) turned in a dominating effort in the loss with 22 points and 14 rebounds, including nine on the offensive glass.  Robinson fought hard on the offensive boards leading to several and-one opportunities.  Fifteen points off the bench by senior guard Michael Mailhot (Norwich, Conn.) complemented Robinson's effort.

In the opening half, junior Lachlan Magee (Melbourne, Australia) dished out a game-high six assists while adding eight points of his own.  Magee went on to score 16 points in the game tying Gulls teammate Lance Greene (Dorchester, Mass.) for the team-high. 

Endicott's success in the first half was also attributed to strong three-point shooting as the Gulls drained 6-of-13 attempts including two by sophomore guard John Henault (Lunenburg, Mass.).  Henault went on to hit 3-of-5 from long distance to contribute towards his 15 points in the game.  Henault also played well defensively with two steals and a block. 

Sophomore forward Andre Makris (Southbury, Conn.) chipped in with his fourth double-digit point effort of the season, adding 12 points of 6-of-12 shooting.

Trailing 58-36 just 1:34 into the second half, Emmanuel went on a 16-1 run to pull within seven points of Endicott with 14:23 remaining in the period.  Endicott maintained a single digit lead over the next couple of minutes until a 19-6 stretch pushed the Gulls advantage back up to 20 points at 80-60.  Over the final seven minutes of the game, Endicott maintained their solid double-digit lead thanks in part to a six-point second half effort by freshman Dan Powers (Westwood, Mass.) who finished with a season-high nine points.  Fellow freshman Matt Ellis (Westford, Mass.) also came off the bench in the second half and added five points, including a three-pointer. 

Emmanuel also got solid games from senior guard Connor Morgan (Glocester, R.I.), junior guard Josh Welles (Philadelphia, Pa.), and junior guard Brandon Jones (Windsor, Conn.) as the trio combined for 35 points in a starting role.  Welles dished out a team-high four assists while both Morgan and junior guard Alex Myers (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) forced two turnovers each.

Endicott held advantages in rebounding 40-35, points in the paint 50-38, and fast-break points 10-2.  Emmanuel led in second chance opportunities, outscoring the Gulls 18-8.