BEVERLY, Mass. – Endicott College (9–1) used a second-half surge to pull away from Saint Joseph's College (3–7) in a 99–84 non-conference men's basketball victory at MacDonald Gymnasium on Tuesday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The matchup was a shootout from the opening tip, as the contest featured 13 ties and 12 lead changes. The Monks and Gulls traded baskets throughout the first half, but Endicott's 58.1% (18-31) shooting effort from the floor helped the hosts carry a 47-45 edge into intermission.
Saint Joseph's briefly seized control early in the second half, as three-pointers from seniors John Paul Frazier (York, Maine) and Tong Maiwen (Juba, South Sudan) fueled an 8–2 push that gave the Monks a 53–49 lead with 18:50 remaining.
Endicott responded with the game's decisive run, stringing together a 23–5 stretch to turn the four-point deficit into a 72–58 advantage with just over 12 minutes left. Saint Joseph's continued to battle and trimmed the margin to 89–79 inside of four minutes, as freshman guard Yusuf Dakane (Lewiston, Maine) led the charge with seven points, but the Gulls answered again and kept the lead in double figures the rest of the way.
STATS OF THE GAME:
Saint Joseph's shot 45.5% (30–66) from the floor and 41.7% (10–24) from three, while Endicott connected on 54.4% (37–68) overall and 66.7% (6–9) from beyond the arc.
The Gulls held a 56–38 advantage in points in the paint and turned 19 SJC turnovers into 26 points; the Monks managed just five points off seven Endicott miscues.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Tong Maiwen – 18 points (6–10 FG, 3–5 3PT), 6 rebounds
- Wani Donato (Sr., Portland, Maine) – 17 points (8–12 FG), 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks
- Yusuf Dakane – 16 points in 22 minutes, 4 rebounds, 9-of-10 free throws
- John Paul Frazier – 10 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds
- Davis Mann (Fr., Falmouth, Maine) – 9 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block
LEADERS – ENDICOTT:
- Elijah Kinney – 33 points (12–19 FG), 12 rebounds, 5 blocks
- Marcus Montagnino – 23 points, 4 rebounds
- Caden Sullivan – 13 points, 7 assists
- AJ Forte – 12 points on 4-of-6 three-point shooting off the bench
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the loss, Saint Joseph's falls to 1–2 in the history of the series with Endicott College. The Monks defeated the Gulls, 97–78, in Standish last winter (December 14, 2024).
NEXT!
The Monks are idle until Friday, January 2, when they open a two-game slate at the Stevens Men's Basketball Holiday Tournament in Hoboken, N.J. Saint Joseph's will face Stevens Institute of Technology at 4:00 PM on Friday before squaring off with Ithaca College on Saturday at 2:00 PM.
