Walker's 23 Points Leads Endicott to Season Opening Win at Wheaton Invitational

NORTON, Mass. – Game one of the 2013-14 Endicott's men's basketball season ended with a 89-78 victory over NAIA opponent Fisher on day one of the Wheaton Invitational, as the Gulls earned the right to play the winner of Maine Maritime versus Wheaton in the championship game tomorrow afternoon.  That game will be played at 3:00 pm in Wheaton's Clark Gymnasium in Norton, Massachusetts.

Endicott (1-0) was led by freshman guard Kamahl Walker (Worcester, Mass.) who excelled in his first collegiate game with 23 points on 6-of-13 shooting and 9-of-10 from the free throw line with five rebounds and four assists.  Walker led a Gulls offensive attack that shot 48% from the field throughout the game and sealed the win thanks in part to 82% free throw shooting. 

Walker is among many fresh faces on the Endicott roster that played well in their first game for the Blue and Green which includes Max Motroni (West Warwick, R.I.), Daquan Sampson (Germantown, Md.), Greg Jacques (Brockton, Mass.), and Stephen Basden (Lynn, Mass.) who all contributed significant minutes in this game.  Motroni dished out four assists while Sampson, Jacques, and Basden all chipped in offensively with single digit points. 

Endicott's familiar faces shined in their first game of the season as juniors John Henault (Lunenburg, Mass.) and Andre Makris (Southbury, Conn.) reached double figures with 18 and 14 points, respectively.  Henault hauled in six rebounds and continued where he left off from the 2012-13 season by knocking down 7-of-8 free throws.  Makris hit 50% of his shots from the floor while contributing defensively with a block.  A pair of junior big men also contributed to Endicott's win as Tell White (New Castle, N.H.) and Matt Kneece (Shrewsbury, Mass.) combined for 13 points and 10 rebounds. 

Fisher saw a trio of scorers reach double figures as Tyler Shular (Norwalk, Conn.) and Orlando Zayas (Boston, Mass.) both dropped 16 points while Ira Haywood (Las Vegas, Nev.) added 13 points.  On the glass, Ernest McNeil (Boston, Mass.) led all players on the court with 11 boards.

Walker scored 14 of his 23 points in the second half against the Falcons and helped the Gulls overcome a four-point deficit at the 14:03 mark to build a lead as large as 14 points after a pair of Motroni free throws with just 5:26 remaining. 

Endicott improved to 3-2 in season openers under head coach Phil Rowe.  Against Endicott's potential opponents on Saturday, the Gulls are 4-2 all-time versus Maine Maritime but just 3-6 against the host Lyons.