Men’s Basketball Stifles Nichols, 84-73; Kinney Pours In Career-High 29 Points

BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott men's basketball team defeated Nichols, 84-73, in Conference of New England (CNE) action on Wednesday night at MacDonald Gymnasium.

Endicott never trailed in the contest, as the annual primetime conference matchup only featured two ties (5-5 17:15; 7-7, 16:08).

The Gulls held the advantage for 38:39 of action, and led by as many as 12 points (32-20) with 5:05 remaining in the first half.

Elijah Kinney (Nashville, Tenn.) led all scorers with a career-high 29 points (11-15 FG, 1-2 3PT, 6-6 FT), alongside 13 rebounds, two assists, and one block.

The double-double was the 20th of his career (4th this season).

Marcus Montagnino (Gloucester, Mass.) also contributed 18 points, five rebounds, five assists, and two steals.

Caden Sullivan (Franklin, Mass.) rounded out the list of double-digit scorers with 15 points.

With the game tied 7-7, Endicott produced a 25-13 run to take a commanding 32-20 lead in the first half (5:05).

The Gulls led by as many as 12 points on four more occasions (35-23, 59-47, 61-49) throughout the contest, before Nichols mounted a comeback bid, bringing the game within two points (65-63) with 6:32 to play in the final stanza.

From there, the trio of Kinney, Sullivan, and Montagnino took over, scoring all 19 points down the stretch. Kinney paced the group with nine, while Sullivan added six, and Montagnino had four.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• First 5-0 start to a season in program history.
• Endicott evened up the all-time series at 24-24 with tonight's win.
• The Gulls led in points off turnovers (16-15), points in the paint (38-32), second chance points (23-11), and bench points (18-15).
• Kinney has made 25 straight free throws dating back to November 8 against Baruch.
• The junior big is shooting 97% from the charity stripe (32-33 FT).
• As a team, Endicott shot a season-high 93.3 percent from the line tonight (14-15 FT).
• Nichols made it a one-possession game five different times (68-65, 70-67, 72-69, 74-71, 76-73) later in the second half, with the final chance at tying the game coming at the 1:10 mark.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (5-0, 1-0 CNE) takes on Southern Maine in the Colby College Tournament on Friday, November 21 at 7 PM. Nichols (1-3, 0-1 CNE) visits Keene State College this Friday at 7:30 PM. 

For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

(Photo Credit - Michael Kiselka '29)