Walker Drops 47 In Gulls' 100-88 Loss to Keene St. In KSC Tip Off Tourney; Breaks Program Single-Game Points Record

KEENE, N.H.- Junior guard Kamahl Walker (Worcester, Mass.) broke the Endicott men's basketball program record for most points scored in a single game, but his 47 points wasn't enough as the Gulls fell 100-88 to the host Keene St. Owls in the KSC Tip-Off Tournament Sunday afternoon at Spaulding Gym. 

Keene St. shot 58.3% from the floor and outrebounded the Gulls 44-28.

The Gulls trailed 55-38 at the half, despite a 19-point effort from Walker and 10 points from junior guard Max Motroni (West Warwick, R.I.). Motroni finished with 19 points, three rebounds and five assists.

With 15:48 to go in the game, junior forward Jeff Lunn's (Nashua, N.H.) layup pushed the Owls' lead to 65-47, but the Gulls embarked on a 25-5 run over the next five minutes to take a 72-70 lead.

Walker erupted for 20 points during that stretch, getting on fouled on consecutive three point attempts both times and made all three shots.

The Owls took the lead back at 76-74 on senior center Nate Howard's (Cheshire, Conn.) jumper, and slowly pulled away to give the Gulls their first loss of the season.

Walker and Motroni were named to the KSC All-Tournament Team.

BEYOND THE BOX

• Walker scored a game-high (career-high) and program-best 47 points on 11-for-20 shooting from the field and 23-of-23 from the foul line and tallied a team-high eight rebounds.
• Walker broke Josh Oxton's previous Endicott record of 36 points from a Jan. 18, 2005 game against the University of New England.
• 32 points was Walker's previous career-high, which he did against Eastern Nazarene on Feb. 26, 2015.
• Walker's 23-for-23 at the free throw line broke his own school record (14 on Feb. 3, 2015) for most attempts and most made free throws in a single game.
• Junior forward Daquan Sampson (Jacksonville, N.C.) was second on the team with seven rebounds and chipped in seven points.
• Motroni connected on 4-of-7 from beyond the arc.
• Freshman guard Rob O'Brien (Rindge, N.H.) registered the first points of his career on a three-pointer with 10:47 left in the first half to knot the score at 17-17.
• The last time the Gulls gave up 100 points was in a 112-104 victory over Castleton St. University in the ECAC DIII New England Quarterfinals.

FOR THE FOES

• Tournament Most Valuable Player senior guard Nate Stitchell (Coventry, R.I.) led five Keene St. players in double-figures as he scored 22.
• Lunn had 15 points, and junior guard/forward Jacquel Edwards (Manchester, Conn.), sophomore guard Dizel Wright (Springfield, Mass.),and Howard each had 14. 

NOTES

• The Gulls are 4-8 all-time against Keene St., as the Owls have won the past three consecutive meetings with the most previous meeting in 2006 before today.

WHAT'S NEXT

 The Gulls (1-1) will face Clark University at the Herb Kenny Tip-Off Tournament at Wesleyan University on Friday, November 20 at 8:00 p.m. in Middletown, Conn. The Owls (2-0) will take on Lasell on November 19 at 7 pm in their next contest. 

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