Men's Basketball Surges Past Curry, 83-66

BEVERLY, Mass. — The Endicott men's basketball team defeated the Curry Colonels, 83-66, in Saturday afternoon's Conference of New England (CNE) matchup from inside MacDonald Gymnasium.

Marcus Montagnino (Gloucester, Mass.) poured in a game-high 33 points (10-22 FG, 13-14 FT) and also hauled down 11 rebounds (six offensive, five defensive) to lead the Gulls.

Caden Sullivan (Franklin, Mass.) turned in a career-best 23 points (9-17 FG, 4-5 FT) in his 31 minutes from the floor. He also picked up seven boards, a block, and a steal in the win.

The two teams traded baskets early, and neither side took more than a two-possession lead throughout the half.

Montagnino led the way with 20 of Endicott's 41 points over the first 20 minutes of play, while Max Grenert (Beverly, Mass.) chipped in eight points (3-5 FG, 1-2 3PT, 1-1 FT) from off the bench to help the Gulls pull ahead 41-37 at the break.

In the second half, the Blue and Green finally found some separation thanks to an opening 5-0 run in the first minute of play. Matt Boen (Mansfield, Mass.) tipped in a layup and Sullivan splashed a triple to give Endicott a 46-37 advantage. 

The Colonels remained within striking distance, as they closed the gap back to four (48-44) with 16:00 remaining. 

However, a game-defining 19-4 Endicott run pushed the lead to 19 (67-48) with 10:46 remaining to take command of the contest.

Montagnino, Sullivan, and Jeff Hill (Lynn, Mass.) each made contributions during the surge.

Curry went on a late 7-0 run to cut the deficit back to 10 (4:47 remaining), but an AJ Forte (Peabody, Mass.) triple along with several Montagnino free throws sealed Endicott's 83-66 victory.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Gulls lead the all-time series with a 38-13 record against the Colonels.
• Endicott has won 25 straight games in the series dating back to 1/11/14.
• Eighth career 30+ point scoring performance for Montagnino (second this season).
• Liam Dunfee (Nahant, Mass.) made his first start of the season (fifth career).
• Forte was a team-high +15 in plus/minus.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (11-1, 3-0 CNE) welcomes Western New England to MacDonald Gymnasium on Tuesday for a 7:30 PM CNE tipoff. Curry (3-9, 0-4 CNE) hosts Roger Williams on Tuesday for a 7:30 PM CNE matchup. 

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(Photo Credit - Bradley Griffin '28)