No. 15 Men's Basketball Nabs 12th Straight With 90-78 Win Over Nichols

DUDLEY, Mass. — The No. 15 nationally ranked Endicott men's basketball team defeated Nichols, 90-78, in Saturday afternoon's Conference of New England (CNE) clash from inside Nichols Athletics Center.

Caden Sullivan (Franklin, Mass.) poured in a game-high 28 points (8-14 FG, 4-9 3PT, 8-8 FT) and also dished out five assists in 35 minutes of action.

Elijah Kinney (Nashville, Tenn.) notched his 13th double-double of the season. He scored 25 points (10-18 FG, 1-2 3PT, 4-6 FT) hauled down 17 rebounds, and rejected two shots.

Marcus Montagnino (Gloucester, Mass.) flirted with a triple-double in his team-high 37 minutes from the floor. He posted 12 points (4-8 FG, 4-5 FT), dished out nine assists, snagged seven rebounds, and picked up three steals.

Cam Keliher (South Hampton, N.H.) rounded out the double-digit scorers with his 14 points (4-7 FG, 4-6 3PT, 2-2 FT). He also dished out three dimes and snagged three boards.

Endicott jumped out to a quick 21-12 lead over the first seven minutes thanks in large part to early contributions from Sullivan and Kinney (eight and six points in that stretch, respectively).

Then, with the Gulls up 24-14, the Bison erupted for a 10-0 run (11:40-7:28) to reinsert themselves in the matchup.

Some clutch downtown shooting from Keliher and Joey DaSilva (Windham, N.H.) pushed the lead back to 35-26 (4:54), but Nichols once again closed the gap via a 10-2 spurt (4:54-2:42).

More explosive two-way play from Sullivan and Kinney led Endicott to a 9-0 stretch over the final 2:31 of the half. The visiting Gulls headed to the break with a 46-36 lead.

Sullivan led the visitors with 15 points and three steals after the first 20 minutes.

With Endicott leading by 13 (67-54), Keliher knocked down back-to-back triples at the 10:57 and 9:21 marks to push the lead back to 17 (73-56).

From there, the Bison exploded for a 12-2 run (8:56-5:52) to get within a 10-point differential for the first time since the first half (75-68 Endicott).

Despite the Bison spurt, the Gulls showed no panic. They scrapped together another 9-0 burst (5:51-3:25) to reclaim an 84-68 lead. Sullivan highlighted the action with a huge corner triple to swing the momentum back in Endicott's favor.

Over the final 3+ minutes of play, the Blue and Green staved off any further big runs from the Bison, and eventually closed out the 90-78 road win.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The two teams entered today deadlocked at 24 games a side in the all-time series.
• Since the start of 2025, Endicott holds a 4-0 record against Nichols.
• Sullivan's 28 points set a career high.
• Kinney's 13 double-doubles rank third nationally.
• Highest scoring output for Keliher since 12/12/24.
• The Gulls extended their current winning streak to 12.

WHAT'S NEXT

No. 15 Endicott (18-1, 10-0 CNE) heads to Roger Williams on Tuesday evening for a 7:30 PM CNE tipoff. Nichols (11-9, 6-5 CNE) travels to Wentworth for a 5 PM CNE matchup on Tuesday evening. 

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(Photo Credit - Manuel Vasquez '28)