Gulls hold off Saints 80-70 to win fourth in-a-row

Boxscore

Beverly, Mass. – Endicott sophomore Lance Greene (Dorchester, Mass.) netted a game-high 16 points to lead the Gulls to an 80-70 win over Emmanuel College on Thursday night, pushing their win streak to four games. Greene was one of four Endicott players to hit double figures as the team shot 45.1% from the floor.

Lachlan Magee (Melbourne, Australia), Aaron Karkow (Uncasville, Conn.) and Chris Galbraith (Lowell, Mass.) each scored 14, 13, and 10 points, respectively to pace the high-tempo game. Magee and Karkow were active on the boards as well, grabbing eight and nine rebounds each. The Gulls outrebounded the Saints 50-31. 

Endicott’s freshman guard Jordan Lewis (Windsor, Conn.) played a strong 24 points in a starting role, scoring eight points and dishing out a game-high five assists. Teammate Bennett Knowlton (Shrewsbury, Mass.) equaled Lewis’ total of five dimes in the game. 

For the Saints, junior forward Isaiah Duke (Albany, N.Y.) scored team-high 12 points on 4-of-9 from the field and added a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Duke also grabbed four rebounds and made three steals. Sophomore Xavier Everson was the only other Emmanuel player in double digits with 11 points and four rebounds. 

Emmanuel’s freshman guard D.J. Fazio (Methuen, Mass.) gave a solid all-around effort before fouling out with eight points, four assists, three steals, two rebounds and a block. 

The Gulls controlled the game early in the first half, jumping out to a 16-6 advantage following a Karkow three-pointer. The Saints, however, battled back to trim Endicott’s lead down to four at 22-18 with 7:30 remaining after freshman Josh Welles (Philadelphia, Pa.) knocked down a jumper. The Blue and Green finished off the half with a 15-6 run capped off by layup with no time remaining by Lewis to take a 37-24 lead at the break.

The second half featured a high-octane offensive back-and-forth with both teams with the Saints outscoring the Gulls 46-43. On several occasions, Emmanuel was able to trim Endicott’s lead into single digits but the home team maintained a strong lead before ending the game with a 10-point 80-70 victory. 

Off the bench, Endicott’s Erik Callo (Southington, Conn.) increased his team-leading block total to 20 with four more swats. Emmanuel’s Andre Fuller (Troy, N.Y.) also was a force on defensive with three blocks of his own. 

The Gulls converted 23 Emmanuel turnovers in 26 points, outscoring the Saints 26-18 in that category. Endicott also controlled the points in the paint with a 38-28 advantage. Emmanuel, however, got more production from their bench with a slim 23-19 advantage.