Men's Basketball Prevails Over Gordon, 79-78

BEVERLY, Mass. — The Endicott men's basketball team rode a late run to victory over Gordon, 79-78, in Saturday afternoon's Conference of New England (CNE) showdown at MacDonald Gymnasium.

Elijah Kinney (Nashville, Tenn.) led the way with 17 points (6-14 FG, 4-5 FT, 1-3 3PT), 12 rebounds (seven defensive, five offensive), four assists, three blocks, and a steal.

Drew Brown (Pelham, N.H.) put together another nice performance after his team-high 17 points on Wednesday. This time around, the graduate guard dropped 17 points (7-12 FG, 3-6 3PT), three rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

Marcus Montagnino (Gloucester, Mass.) recorded another double-double, as he scored 12 points (6-10 FG) and collected ten rebounds. He also picked up three steals on the defensive end.

Jeff Hill (Lynn, Mass.) rounded out the double-digit scorers with a 13-point effort (4-8 FG, 1-2 3PT) in 25 minutes of play.

After a back-and-forth first half (eight lead changes), the Fighting Scots were able to close the final 2:10 on a 10-2 run to take an eight point lead into the break (45-37).

The two teams traded baskets to open up the second stanza. A Brown three-pointer and a Kinney slam dunk made it a 47-42 game at the 16:36 mark.

Gordon continued to hold its lead throughout the second half, but the Gulls were able to remain within striking distance throughout. A Montagnino layup brought it back to a six point game (54-48) with 14:19 remaining, but following that play, the Scots began to run away from the Gulls via a 10-2 run (14:19-11:28). 

Trailing by 11 with 7:43 to play, Kinney set up Cam Keliher (South Hampton, N.H.) for an open triple after a nice defensive stop, cutting the deficit back to eight again (71-63).

After the Fighting Scots once again pushed their lead back to 11, the Gulls responded with an AJ Forte (Peabody, Mass.) deep-ball. On the ensuing Endicott possession, Kinney drilled a triple to make it a seven-point game (76-69) with less than five minutes to play.

Some solid interior defense forced a Gordon empty possession, which was followed by another Gulls three-pointer, this time from Brown. Suddenly, it was a two-possession game at 76-72.

A Scots turnover led to another Brown bucket, this time a runner off the glass, to make it 76-74. 

On the other end, the Gulls defense forced another clutch stop thanks to a Kinney rejection, keeping it a two-point game with two minutes remaining.

A hustle play by Keliher retained possession for Endicott and resulted in a Brown drive to the bucket. The two-way guard fought through contact and dropped in a floater to tie up the contest at 76 apiece.

Gordon ended its nearly four-minute scoring drought (5:03-1:14) on the following trip down the floor, draining a clutch jumper from just inside the arc to retake a 78-76 advantage.

With just 10 seconds remaining, Kinney cleaned up his own miss and drew a foul for a massive and-one play to knot things up at 78. He then converted his free throw attempt to give the Gulls their first lead (79-78) since 25-23. 

With one final chance, Gordon worked a good look from the right wing at the buzzer, but Brown and Keliher's contests were just enough to force a rim-out as the horn sounded, completing a hard-fought 79-78 Gulls victory.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Endicott leads the all-time series 33-23.
• The Blue and Green closed out the contest with a 16-4 run over the final 7:13.
• The Gulls won the battle on the glass, 47-38.
• Second double-double of the season for both Kinney and Montagnino.
• The two teams shot nearly identical from the field. The Fighting Scots were 30-69, while the Gulls were 30-68.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (4-3, 2-0 CNE) welcomes Suffolk to MacDonald Gymnasium on Tuesday, December 10 in a 7:30 PM tipoff. Gordon (4-3, 1-1 CNE) welcomes UNE on Tuesday in a 7:30 PM contest. 

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(Photo Credit - Mazzie Hinsdale '26)