Henault Eclipses 1,000 Career Points; Gulls Top Golden Bears 82-76 at Home

John Henault Career Statistics

Endicott Men's Basketball 1,000-Point Club

BEVERLY, Mass. – In an 82-76 Endicott men's basketball victory over Western New England, Gulls junior guard John Henault (Lunenburg, Mass.) became the 11^th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points and just the third to reach the milestone in his junior season. Henault scored 17 points in the win, netting his 1,000^th-point on the first of two free throw makes at 9:11 in the second half.

Henault finished the win with 1,005 career points, placing him 11^th on the all-time scoring list 23 points behind Graham Whitelaw '10 and 65 points behind current teammate Lachlan Magee. Henault ranks third in Endicott's scoring average list at 14.8 points per game in 68 games played from 2011-14. In his high school career for St. Bernard's (Fitchburg), Henault set a school record with 1,682 career points and let the state in scoring average (27.8 points) in his senior season.

In Saturday's game against the Golden Bears, Henault was 5-of-12 from the field and 7-of-9 at the free throw line with five rebounds, two assists, and a steal in 26 game minutes. Magee was the leading scorer for the Gulls, netting a season-high 18 points on 7-of-10 from the floor, 1-of-2 from three-point range, and 3-of-4 at the line. He also stuffed the stat sheet with four boards, two assists, and a steal. 

Endicott's opposition put up a fight in the second half, keeping within single digits for much of the period and coming with four points of tying the game on two separate occasions. Western New England saw senior big man Dennis Rinaldi (Harrison, N.Y.) register a double-double with 19 points and 14 caroms, including eight on the offensive glass. Rinaldi already leads the conference in rebounding with a 10.0 rebound per game average. The Golden Bears also benefited from strong play off the bench from sophomore guard Luis Agrait (South Hadley, Mass.) who had 13 points and four assists in relief of Nick DeFeo (Southington, Conn.) who fell into foul trouble. 

The Gulls managed to hold Western New England's late surge, a bid that brought them within four points of tying the game at 80-76 with 57 seconds remaining in regulation, thanks in part to solid play down the stretch from Endicott freshman guard Kamahl Walker (Worcester, Mass.) and junior forward Andre Makris (Southbury, Conn.). Walked scored 10 points off the bench while Makris played 16 minutes in the second half with five points, four rebounds, two blocks, and an assist.

Western New England held a significant rebounding advantage at 46-33, which includes 21 offensive rebounds. The Golden Bears took advantage of their second chance opportunities by scoring 22 points.  The Gulls were able to score 20 points off of 15 Western New England turnovers, outscore their opponent 42-28 in the paint, and create offense off fast breaks with 15 points. 

As a team, Endicott shot 55% from the floor but just 30% (3-of-10) from three and 59.1% (13-of-22 at the free throw line. Western New England struggled with a .365 shooting percentage overall and .231 (3-of-13) from beyond the arc while hitting 27-of-41 free throw attempts (.659).

Endicott improved to 12-3 overall, 6-2 in the CCC, and returned the win column after seeing their seven-game winning streak end last Wednesday. Next week, the Gulls will play a pair of road conference games against Wentworth (Tuesday) and Eastern Nazarene (Saturday). Wentworth sits at 5-3 in conference play and will be coming off a 12-point loss to the top team in the CCC, Nichols. 

Western New England dropped to 3-11 (1-7 CCC) on the season and will look to end a short two-game skid at Salve Regina on Tuesday.