BEVERLY, Mass. – Endicott College (7-3) defeated Saint Joseph's College (3-7), 105-85, in a non-conference men's basketball contest on Wednesday evening.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Endicott had all the momentum from the start as the host Gulls opened the game with 12 unanswered points and held a 21-4 lead after Mark Barrett made a pair of free throws with 13:36 left in the first half. The Monks cut their deficit to five points (31-26) when sophomore forward Wani Donato (Portland, Maine) capped a 22-10 run with a layup eight minutes later.

The Monks were unable to maintain the single-digit deficit however, as the Gulls closed out the half with a 15-7 surge to stake a 46-33 lead at the break and proceeded to hold at least a 13-point advantage for the remainder of the evening.

STATS OF THE GAME:

Endicott shot 50.6% (40-79) from the floor and 50.0% (12-24) from downtown while Saint Joseph's posted 40.5% (32-79) and 25.8% (8-31) performances from the field and beyond the arc, respectively.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Sophomore John Paul Frazier (York, Maine) scored a game-high 21 points with six rebounds and three blocked shots
• Donato added 14 points and four rebounds
• Freshman Remijo Wani (Portland, Maine) contributed 12 points, six boards, and four assists
• Junior Julian Llopiz (Boston, Mass.) came off the bench to net 10 points with five rebounds
• Grad Ashtyn Abbott (Farmingdale, Maine) tallied nine points, eight caroms, four assists, three blocks, and a pair of steals

LEADERS – ENDICOTT:

• Elijah Kinney notched a double-double with 20 points and 16 rebounds
• Jalen Echevarria scored 19 points with three assists
• Barrett chipped in with 14 points, six boards, and five assists
• Ty Vitko added 13 points, five rebounds, and four assists
• Matt Boen contributed with 11 points, three boards, and three assists

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

Tonight's matchup between Saint Joseph's and Endicott was the first-ever between the institutions' men's basketball programs.

NEXT!

The Monks are off until Friday, December 29th when they face Wesleyan College in an invitational tournament at Eastern Connecticut State University. Tip-off is slated for 5:00 PM.

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