BOSTON, Mass. –Sophomore Kamahl Walker (Worcester, Mass.) scored a game-high 29 points to pace the Endicott College men's basketball team to its 10th straight win, a 79-70 triumph over Wentworth Institute of Technology in Commonwealth Coast Conference action played at Tansey Gymnasium.
With the win the Gulls improve to 19-5 overall and remain a game behind league-leading Nichols at 15-2 in CCC play while the Leopards fall to 12-12 (10-7).
Senior Ray Bessette (Dedham, Maine) drained a three pointer to start the night's scoring. Walker responded with a layup for the first of his 13 points in the half. Endicott led by six points on two occasions and held the lead for the majority of the first. A jump shot by freshman Cesar Fulcar (Watertown, Mass.) tied the game 35-35 with 24 seconds remaining. However, Walker nailed a shot from behind the arc at the buzzer to put Endicott on top 38-35 going into the half.
The Gulls jumped out to a 15-point lead thanks to an 18-6 run to put the visitors up 56-41 with 14:19 left in the second half. The Gulls hit four trifectas in the run. Wentworth cut the deficit down to five after senior John-Michael Fragnoli (Schenectady, N.Y.) made a layup with 8:55 remaining, however Endicott's shooting remained hot and kept Wentworth a safe distance back to take the game 79-70.
Walker was 10-14 on the floor, including six 3-pointers, in his game-high night. Sophomore Drew Sawyer (Norwalk, Conn.) had 13 points), and senior John Henault (Lunenberg, Mass.) and sophomore Max Motroni (West Warwick, R.I.) each had eight. Motroni also had six assists. Senior Tell White (New Castle, N.H.) had 10 rebounds in the win.
Fragnoli led the Leopards with 22 points coming on 10-of-16 shooting and also had three assists. Bessette added 13 points, three rebounds, and five assists, and Fulcar chipped in with 11 points and three assists.
Both teams wrap up the regular season on Saturday as Wentworth is at Nichols and Endicott hosts Western New England.
