BEVERLY – Several Endicott College team / player updates:
DANBURY, Conn. – The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Northeast Hockey League has announced the seeds and schedule for the 2016 ECAC Northeast Championship, with the first round slated to begin on Saturday, Feb. 27.
Endicott (15-8-2, 11-4-1 ECAC Northeast) will be the tournament’s top overall seed following a strong close to the regular season. The first-year varsity program rattled off a four-game win streak to end the year en route to claiming the regular-season crown over Nichols. The Gulls will receive a bye into the semifinals as the top seed, and will host the lowest-remaining seed in semifinal action on March 2.
Nichols College (16-9-0, 11-5-0 ECAC Northeast) captures the second seed following a solid showing in 2015-16, and will host seventh-seeded Becker College (10-14-1, 6-9-1 ECAC Northeast) in the first round on Saturday, Feb. 27. The Hawks secured their playoff berth with two wins in the season’s final week, including a convincing 7-2 win over Western New England University on the last day of the regular season. The Bison held the advantage in head-to-head play this season with a 2-0 mark against Becker.
Salve Regina University (14-10-1, 9-6-1 ECAC Northeast) will be the tournament’s third seed, setting up a first-round meeting against No. 6 Johnson and Wales University (11-10-4, 7-6-3 ECAC Northeast). The Seahawks posted a perfect 2-0 record against their in-state rivals this season, but JWU enters the postseason fresh from a dramatic, 5-4 overtime victory over Nichols on the final day of the campaign. The two teams will tangle in the first round on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 3:10 p.m. at Salve Regina.
The tournament’s final quarterfinal matchup will pit two schools separated by less than three miles. No. 4 Suffolk University (13-9-2, 8-6-2 ECAC Northeast) will host its Boston-based rivals, Wentworth Institute of Technology (9-14-2, 8-7-1 ECAC Northeast) who will be the fifth seed. While the Rams and Leopards proved evenly matched in the regular season, splitting the two head-to-head meetings, the pairing features two teams with differing late-season fortunes. Suffolk had just one triumph in its last five regular-season outings, while Wentworth comes roaring into the playoffs as winners of six of its last seven. The Rams will be the host school in the matchup, with date, time and location still to be determined.
Following the first round, the semifinals will be played on March 2, with the championship game scheduled for March 6 on the campus of the highest seed remaining in the tournament.
FULL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
First Round: Saturday, Feb. 27
No. 2 Nichols vs. No. 7 Becker – Saturday, Feb. 27, 4:40 p.m. | Levy Rink, Harrisville, R.I.
No. 3 Salve Regina vs. No. 6 Johnson & Wales – Saturday, Feb. 27, 3:10 p.m. | Portsmouth Abbey Ice Arena, Portsmouth, R.I.
No. 4 Suffolk vs. No. 5 Wentworth – TBD | TBD
Semifinals: Wednesday, March 2
No. 1 Endicott vs. Lowest Remaining Seed – TBD | Raymond J. Bourque Arena, Beverly, Mass.
Second-Highest Remaining Seed vs. Second-Lowest Remaining Seed – TBD |
Final: Saturday, March 6
Highest Remaining Seed vs. Lowest Remaining Seed – TBD |
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SPRINGFIELD, Mass.- The Endicott men’s basketball team is pleased to recognize three Gulls named to the 2015-16 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Men’s Basketball All-CCC teams, as announced this evening by the conference office.
Junior guard Kamahl Walker (Worcester, Mass.) was the lone Gull appearing on the All-CCC First Team, while classmates Max Motroni (West Warwick, R.I.) and Daquan Sampson (Germantown, Md.) landed on the Second Team.
Walker and Motroni were 2015 All-CCC members of the First and Second Teams, respectively, and Sampson is a first-time honoree.
Walker currently leads the conference with 20.6 points per game and was a three time CCC Player of the Week this season. Additionally, he named 2015 Salem St. Holiday Classic Team MVP for Endicott, D3 HERO of the Week (11/24/15), and garnered Keene State College and Herb Kenny Tip-Off All-Tournament Team honors.
Walker broke the program record for most points in a single game with a 47-point, eight rebound performance in the team’s 100-88 loss to Keene St. on 11/15/15 and made 23-of-23 free throws for a program record. He eclipsed the 1,000 career point mark through 61 games played on 12/30/15 in the Gulls’ 87-83 loss to Salem State University to become the program’s 13th men’s basketball player to reach the milestone and fourth to do so as a junior.
Motroni, a junior guard, is currently fourth in the conference in three-point percentage (40.6) and was placed on the Keene State College Tip Off All-Tournament Team earlier this season, in addition to being named to the 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team.
Motroni made a career-high 16-of-18 free throws in an 82-76 win over Middlebury on 01/02/16, tallied a career-high 25 points in the team’s 81-61 win at Curry on 01/05/16, and recorded his first career double-double with 25 points and a career-high 10 rebounds in the team’s 75-72 overtime loss at home versus Wentworth on 02/16/16.
Sampson is first in the conference in three-point percentage (42.9) and fourth in rebounds per game (8.9) and has recorded 10 double-double this season. He was named CCC Player of the Week (01/04/16) and made the Herb Kenny Tip-Off Classic All-Tournament Team. The junior forward registered a career-high 23 points and career-high 19 rebounds in the team’s 82-78 road win in overtime at Nichols on 12/02/15.
The Gulls will hit the home hardwood again when No. 4 seeded Endicott hosts No. 5 seeded Gordon on Tuesday, February 23 at 5:30 p.m. in the CCC Quarterfinal round inside MacDonald Gymnasium. $website.include(“rich-footer”)
CCC PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
Sportsmanship – Gordon
Coach – Arlen Galloway, Wentworth
POY – Irving Eggleston, Nichols
DPOY – Irving Eggleston, Nichols
ROY – Garrisson Duvivier, Gordon
Senior-Scholar – Kyle Romich, Wentworth
2016 MEN’S BASKETBALL ALL-CCC TEAMS
First Team All-CCC
Irving Eggleston, Nichols
Kamahl Walker, Endicott
Kyle Romich, Wentworth
Jaylen Owens, Eastern Nazarene
Jason Ganley, Wentworth
Gustave Koumare, Nichols
Second Team All-CCC
Max Motroni, Endicott
Marcos Echevarria, Nichols
Nicholas Bates, Salve Regina
Garrisson Duvivier, Gordon
Devin Thompson, UNE
Daquan Sampson, Endicott
Third Team All-CCC
Nick Marini, Roger Williams
Lequan Gomes, Eastern Nazarene
Sam Johnson, Gordon
Eric Demers, Gordon
Christian Horton, Nichols
Eric Lynch, Eastern Nazarene
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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Endicott women’s basketball team is pleased to announce the placement of two Gulls on the 2015-16 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Women’s Basketball All-CCC teams, as announced this afternoon by the conference office.
Senior guard Kelsey Cuddy (Madison, Conn.) was the lone Gull appearing on the All-CCC First Team, while sophomore forward Hannah Shaw (Bar Harbor, Maine) was named to the All-CCC Third Team.
Last season, Cuddy and Shaw were 2014-15 All-CCC members of the First Team and Rookie of the Year, respectively.
Cuddy currently ranks second in the conference in steals (83), third in the conference with 15.8 points per game and third with 395 points, tied for third in blocks (46), and was a two-time CCC Player of the Week this season (11/16/15, 01/04/16).
Cuddy’s career-high nine steals on 11/24/15 versus Keene St. tied a single-game program record held by Ashley Wright. She also set a new career-high with 28 points in the team’s 77-62 win at Curry on 01/05/16.
Cuddy became the 11th student-athlete in Endicott women’s basketball program history to eclipse the 1,000 career point milestone with an eight point performance in the team’s 59-52 victory over host Western New England on 01/09/16 and has recorded a career-high three double-doubles this season.
Shaw is currently second on the team in points (263) and third in total rebounds (134). She has 11 games this season scoring in double figures and surpassed 20+ points three times, including back-to-back 20+ point games as part of a three game stretch from January 9 to January 14 where she led the team in scoring.
The Gulls will be back in action when No. 4 seeded Endicott hosts No. 5 seeded Curry on Tuesday, February 23 at 7:30 p.m. in a CCC Quarterfinal game inside MacDonald Gymnasium.
INDIVIDUAL/TEAM AWARDS
Player of the Year – Chelsea Vujs, Sr., G/F – Western New England
Defensive Player of the Year – Lauren Hayden, Sr., G – University of New England
Rookie of the Year – Emily Irwin, Fr., G – Curry
Senior-Scholar Athlete – Lauren Hayden, Sr., G – University of New England
Coach of the Year – Anthony Ewing, University of New England
Sportsmanship – Gordon/Wentworth
2016 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ALL-CCC TEAMS
FIRST TEAM ALL-CCC
Angelica Ariola, Sr., G – Roger Williams
Alicia Brown, Jr., C – University of New England
Kelsey Cuddy, Sr., G – Endicott
Meghan Gribbin, Sr., G – University of New England
Meaghan Harden, Sr., G – Salve Regina
Chelsea Vujs, Sr., G/F – Western New England
SECOND TEAM ALL-CCC
Emily Anderson, Jr., F – Western New England
Lauren Hayden, Sr., G – University of New England
Dorothy O’Neill, So., G – Western New England
Bridget Quilty, Jr., F/C – Roger Williams
Carly Rogers, Sr., F – Wentworth
Alanna Vose, Sr., G – University of New England
THIRD TEAM ALL-CCC
Shannon Griffith, Sr., C/F – Curry
Katie Lowerre, Jr., G – Roger Williams
Elia Salazar, Sr., F/C -Eastern Nazarene
Hannah Shaw, So., F – Endicott
Olivia Shaw, So., F – University of New England
Information supplied by Endicott College Sports Information Office
