Men’s Basketball’s Comeback Bid Falls Short Against Suffolk, 77-73

BEVERLY, Mass. — The Endicott men's basketball team was defeated by Suffolk, 77-73, in a Conference of New England (CNE) battle on Tuesday evening at MacDonald Gymnasium. 

Jeff Hill (Lynn, Mass.) poured in 18 points (6-12 FG, 5-7 FT), while Elijah Kinney (Nashville, Tenn.) netted 14 points, nine rebounds, and four assists.

AJ Forte (Peabody, Mass.) generated 14 points (6-8 FG, 2-4 3PT), and Marcus Montagnino (Gloucester, Mass.) scored 13 points (4-8 FG, 4-5 FT) in the setback.

In the opening stanza, Endicott sparked an 8-2 scoring run to take an 18-12 lead at the midway point. The run was powered by six points from Kinney and a Hill bucket. 

Immediately after, the Rams exploded for a 20-3 stretch to take a 32-21 advantage with 5:03 to play in the half. They headed to the break with a 39-30 lead. 

Meanwhile, the Rams hot shooting continued as they went on an 11-4 spurt to lead by as many as 16 points (50-34) with 13:46 to play.

The Gulls responded with an electric 18-4 run of their own to cut the deficit to 64-58 with 4:15 remaining. The spurt was ignited by Hill (8), Forte (7), and Montagnino (3). 

In the final three minutes, Montagnino struck again with back-to-back and-one layups to bring the Suffolk lead to a narrow 67-66.

With two minutes left, Montagnino found a cutting Drew Brown (Pelham, N.H.) for an easy lay-in. On the ensuing possession, Suffolk's Keenan Robertson (Rochester, N.Y) hit a floater in the paint to take a 71-68 lead with 41 seconds to play.

On the next possession, Kinney knocked down two free throws with 28 seconds remaining, while Danny Yardemian (Belmont, Mass.) went one of two at the charity stripe before a key Suffolk rebound to retain possession on the offensive end. 

Suffolk's Devin Dzikas (Clifton Park, N.Y.) nailed two free throws and Montagnino swished two for Endicott with 13 seconds left. 

With seven seconds remaining, Robertson went one of two at the line to make the score 75-72.

Hill hit a free throw before Suffolk escaped on the road to stay undefeated in conference play. 

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Suffolk holds a 7-5 advantage in the all-time series.
• The Gulls held the Rams to three made field goals in the final 9:01 of the matchup.
• The Rams finished plus-eight on the glass, 36-28.
• Suffolk produced 28 points in the paint to Endicott's 18.  
• The hosts' bench outscored the visitors' substitutes, 17-13. 

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (4-4, 2-1 CNE) visits Salem St. on Thursday, December 12 at 5:00 PM. Suffolk (6-2, 3-0 CNE) participates in the Trinity Holiday Tournament on December 30 & 31. 

For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

(Photo Credit - Sammy LaCorcia '27)