Elmira's Buzzer Beater Stuns Endicott, 62-59, In Salem St. Holiday Classic

SALEM, Mass. – A last second more than half court buzzer beater from Elmira College's Justin Henderson (Staten Island, N.Y.) stunned the Gulls, 62-59, to wrap up the Salem St. Holiday Classic in non-conference action Wednesday night inside Twohig Gymnasium.

With the loss, the Gulls fell to 4-5 overall, while Elmira improved to 2-7 on the season.

Endicott took a 30-22 lead into the break at halftime behind 12 points to from junior guard Kamahl Walker (Worcester, Mass.) to lead the floor as he finished with a game-high 19 points to extend his double-digit scoring streak to 21 games, dating back to Jan. 31, 2015 of last season.

The Gulls led by as much as 13, up 46-33 on a Walker layup with 13:46 left in the game and held a lead for 34:10 of the contest, but the Soaring Eagles outscored Endicott, 40-29, in the second half and had two clutch three-pointers down the stretch to steal the victory.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Gulls placed three student-athletes in double figures, as junior guard Max Motroni (West Warwick, R.I.) and junior forward Daquan Sampson (Germantown, Md.) tallied 14 points and 13 points to join Walker with 19, respectively. Motroni connected on 3-of-6 from downtown.
• Walker was named Classic Team MVP for Endicott, while Henderson took home Classic Team MVP honors for Elimira.
• Walker's career points total currently sits at 1,023, one night after he eclipsed 1,000 points in the team's 87-83 loss to host Salem St.
• This was the first time all season that the Gulls have dropped back to back games and Endicott scored its lowest point total of the season.

FOR THE FOES

• The Soaring Eagles produced a 44-34 margin on the boards – including a game-high 13 rebounds (eight offensive) from senior forward John Mullane (Norfolk, Mass.).
• Senior guard Gino Leonardi (Spencer, N.Y.) led Elmira with 18 points to go with six rebounds as he hit a game-tying three-pointer with eight seconds remaining in regulation.
• Tonight's hero, senior guard and captain Henderson chipped in 13 points.
• It was Elmira's first win since the team's 93-88 overtime victory versus Chatham University in the Carnegie Mellon Invitational on Nov. 29, 2015.

NOTES

• The Gulls are now 0-2 all-time against Elmira, as the other meeting before tonight was a 95-88 loss on Dec. 1, 1996.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (4-5) will open the 2016 schedule with its last non-conference game of the regular season when the Gulls host Middlebury College (5-5) on Saturday, January 2 at 2:00 p.m. in Beverly, Mass., while Elmira (2-7) welcomes Stevens Institute of Technology on Monday, January 4 at 2:00 p.m. as the Soaring Eagles open Empire 8 play. 

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