Gulls Best USM, 73-62, In Salem St. Holiday Classic

SALEM, Mass. — The Endicott men's basketball team bested the University of Southern Maine Huskies, 73-62, Thursday night inside Twohig Gymnasium to begin the Salem St. Holiday Classic.

Endicott picked right back up after the holiday hiatus as senior guard Max Motroni (West Warwick, R.I.) poured in a team-high 20 points to lead the way in a game in which the Gulls never trailed.

Senior guard Kamahl Walker (Worcester, Mass.) moved into second on the program's all-time leading scorer list as his trey at the 10:56 mark of the first half officially surpassed the milestone.

Endicott scored a season-high 49 points in the first half and built a lead as large as 26 with 19:29 remaining in the game.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Walker now has 1,509 career points, as his 19 points tonight enabled him to surpass Nemanja Marinkovic's '07 and John Henault's '15 previous mark of 1,495 for second all-time.
• Walker currently has attempted 446 career free throws, as his 3-of-4 effort at the line tonight moved him into third all-time in career attempts, surpassing Eric Simonelli's '01 mark of 444.
• Senior forward Chris Lipscomb (West Springfield, Mass.) pulled down nine rebounds (tied for game-high) as the Gulls out-rebounded the Huskies, 43-39.
• Motroni has registered four games this season with 20+ points, with 20+ outbursts in four of the past five contests.
• Motroni moved into 10th place on the all-time scoring list surpassing Jeremy Currier '04 with 1,166 career points.

FOR THE FOES

• Senior guard Zach Leal (York, Maine) scored a game-high 25 points to go with eight rebounds, three assists, and two blocks.
• Senior forward James Starks III (Miami, Fla.) grabbed nine rebounds (tied for game-high) and added 15 points.
• The Huskies out-scored Endicott, 37-24, in the second half.

NOTES

• Endicott is 2-0 against the Huskies in the all-time series dating back to the first-ever meeting on 11/16/2006 in Beverly, Mass. when the Gulls won, 53-46.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (7-2, 3-0 CCC) takes on Regis (Mass.) on Friday, December 30 at 5:00 p.m. to close out the 2016 calendar in the Salem St. Holiday Classic.

University of Southern Maine (4-6, 0-2 LEC) battles host Salem St. to wrap up Salem St. Holiday Classic at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, December 30. 

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