NCAA TOURNAMENT: No. 11 Men’s Basketball Turns Away Neumann In First Round, 96-82

NCAA PRESS CONFERENCE

BEVERLY, Mass. – The No. 11 nationally ranked Endicott men's basketball team defeated Neumann University, 96-82, in NCAA Tournament First Round action on Friday night in front of another sellout crowd at MacDonald Gymnasium.

Following an early first half deficit (5 points), the Gulls settled in behind their electric fanbase, eventually taking the lead at the 13:12 mark, and never relinquished the advantage the rest of the way.

Marcus Montagnino (Gloucester, Mass.) recorded his second career triple-double to lead the hosts to the victory, tallying 20 points, 13 rebounds, and 13 assists. The graduate student forward is the first student-athlete in program history to notch multiple triple-doubles (based on available data).

Caden Sullivan (Franklin, Mass.) also registered 23 of his team-high 25 points in the second half to close out Endicott's first-ever NCAA Tournament home win. Tonight's contest marked just the second NCAA Tournament home game in program history (3/4/2004 vs. Babson).

Andrew Mitchell (Roxbury, Mass.) put together his best performance of the season when it mattered most, scoring a career-high 18 points in 16 minutes off the bench.

Matt Boen (Mansfield, Mass.) rounded out the list of double-digit scorers with 14, while Elijah Kinney (Nashville, Tenn.) was a factor on both ends, per usual, with nine points, 14 rebounds, four blocks, and three dimes.

FIRST HALF

Endicott trailed by a half-high five points twice (5-0, 18:23 | 7-2, 16:48) before the home crowd helped energize a 9-2 run, culminating in the hosts' first lead of the contest, 11-9, with 13:12 to play.

From there, the Gulls pushed their lead to double-digits three times just under the midway point (19-9, 11:46 | 22-11, 10:29 | 24-14, 9:56), only allowing the Knights to cut their advantage down to one possession just once (25-22, 6:24) for the remainder of the stanza.

The Blue and Green closed out the first half on an 18-12 run (43-34), nearly taking a 12-point lead into the break, if not for a right wing three with one second remaining.

Boen had the hot hand early, scoring a team-high 12 points (3-4 FG, 3-4 3PT, 3-4 FT) through the opening 13:57 of play. The senior guard punctuated his season-best first half scoring output by burying a wide-open right wing trey – his third straight make from long range – to claim a 28-22 margin (6:03) on the scoreboard.

Montagnino stuffed the stat sheet in 19:16 of action with 11 points (5-6 FG, 1-1 3PT, 0-1 FT), seven rebounds, and seven assists, while Kinney mirrored his post counterpart over 18:15 of play via six points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks.

Mitchell was the finisher for the Gulls in the first half, as the junior transfer guard compiled seven points from the 1:53 mark on, going 3-for-5 (1-2 3PT) from the field overall.

As a team, Endicott shot 46.9% overall (15-32 FG), 37.5% from beyond the arc (6-16), and 77.8% at the line (7-9).

Both teams were evenly matched in the paint, 16-16, but the Gulls won all the other secondary stat categories, including points off turnovers (3-2), second chance (2-0), fast break (8-0), and bench points (10-0).

SECOND HALF

Endicott led by as many as 20 points (75-55) with 10:37 to go in the second stanza.

Sullivan guided the 32-21 scoring charge with 13 points, which included four 3-pointers during the run.

The double-digit advantage stayed intact from there on out, as Neumann only brought the game under 10 points once during the second half (53-46, 16:51).

Endicott finished the game shooting 57.9% from the field (33-57), 53.3% from three (16-30), and 77.8% (14-18) at the charity stripe.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Tonight's matchup was the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
• Endicott led for 33:12 in the contest.
• Cam Keliher (South Hampton, N.H.) manufactured a game-high +25 rating in 26 minutes.
• In three playoff contests this season, the Gulls have upped their game each time, shooting 41.2% (CNE Semifinals), 50.9% (CNE Championship), and 57.9% (NCAA First Round) from the field.
• The 57.9 field goal percentage is the highest output by Endicott in an NCAA Tournament game.
• With tonight's victory, the Gulls have tied the program record for most home wins in a season with 15 total (15-0, 2025-26 | 15-3, 2003-04).

WHAT'S NEXT

No. 11 Endicott (27-1) hosts No. 23 SUNY Cortland (24-4) tomorrow in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at 6:30 PM.

Neumann's 2025-26 campaign comes to a close at 19-10 overall. 

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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)