Gulls’ Stellar Defensive Effort Stymies Wentworth On Senior Day, 73-58

BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott men's basketball team defeated Wentworth, 73-58, in Conference of New England (CNE) action on Saturday evening at MacDonald Gymnasium.

Before the game, seniors Tallon Craver (Pepperell, Mass.), Joey DaSilva (Windham, N.H.), and Liam Dunfee (Nahant, Mass.) were all honored for their contributions to the men's basketball program and the Endicott College community.

Marcus Montagnino (Gloucester, Mass.) paced the Gulls with a game-high 24 points (7-11 FG, 2-2 3PT, 8-8 FT), nine rebounds (tied game-high), three assists, and two steals.

Elijah Kinney (Nashville, Tenn.) also filled the stat sheet with 16 points, eight boards, three dimes, and three blocks.

Parker McLaren (Newburyport, Mass.) rounded out the list of double-digit scorers with 12 points alongside five rebounds and two assists.

Trailing 49-48 with 9:23 remaining in the second half, Endicott produced an 18-7 run to pull away from Wentworth for good.

McLaren fueled the go-ahead run with a team-high eight points, highlighted by a thunderous dunk at 6:04 (55-49 lead) and a pair of three-pointers with the latter trey-ball capping the spurt at 3:17 (66-56).

Montagnino (5), Drew Brown (Pelham, N.H.) (3), and Kinney (2) also contributed to the scoring column.

Endicott finished the contest with its largest lead of 15 points thanks to a Montagnino right-corner three after some great ball movement helped the Gulls evade an intentional foul scenario down the stretch.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Endicott held Wentworth to its second-lowest points total this season (56 vs. Hartford, 12/11/24).
• The Gulls allowed their second-fewest points total in a victory (57 vs. Curry 1/28/25).
• Today's matchup featured nine ties and eight lead changes.
• Montagnino scored 15 of his game-high 24 points in the second half.
• Endicott outscored Wentworth 14-4 off turnovers, 11-0 on second-chance opportunities, and 33-11 off the bench.
• The Gulls led for 18:05, while Wentworth held an advantage for 14:50 (tied 7:04).

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (13-6, 10-2 CNE) visits the University of New England on Wednesday, February 5 at 7:30 PM. Wentworth (6-13, 5-7 CNE) travels to Curry next Wednesday at 7:30 PM. 

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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)