BEVERLY, Mass. - Endicott sophomore Aaron Karkow (Uncasville, Conn.) scored a season-high 23 points while senior Graham Whitelaw (Kennebunk, Maine) added 19 to help lead the Gulls past Salve Regina, 83-65, in The Commonwealth Coast Conference men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon in Beverly, Mass.

The win evens the Gulls to 11-11 overall and 6-5 in league play, while the Seahawks dip to 4-19 and 3-8 in the TCCC.

Endicott built an 11 point halftime lead by shooting a blistering 53.6% from the field in the game's opening 20 minutes of play. The combination of Karkow and Whitelaw was most effective in the first frame, as the duo scored 11 and 10 points, respectively, in the first stanza.

In the second half, Whitelaw helped stretch the Endicott lead to 20 points as the senior guard knocked down one of his four three-pointers. The Gulls' lead would climb to as high as 22 points before a mini Salve Regina run narrowed the margin to 12 with 5:08 remaining. That is as close as the visitors would get, however, as Endicott ended the game on an 8-3 spurt to seal the victory.

The Gulls were dominant in the paint, out-rebounding the Seahawks at a 49-30 clip. Endicott scored 13 points on second chance opportunities and held a 26-20 advantage in points in the paint.

Karkow finished the afternoon with 23 points and eight rebounds, while Whitelaw had 19 points, six rebounds and four assists. Whitelaw is now just six points shy of 1,000 for his career, a feat he'll attempt to accomplish on Senior Night next week. Bobby Montrond (Brockton, Mass.) added nine points, four assists and three steals, while Justin Martin (Cromwell, Conn.) had six points and three blocked shots.

Salve Regina got a game-high 24 points on 8-of-22 shooting from Jabreche Boyd (West Haven, Conn.). Austin Hall (Coventry, Conn.) had 14 points and seven boards while Ryan Birrell (Hope, R.I.) scored 13 points to go along with four assists.

Endicott returns to action on Wednesday evening when the Gulls will celebrate Senior Night against New England College at 6:00 p.m. in Beverly, Mass. The Seahawks look to bounce back against Eastern Nazarene at 8:00 p.m. on the same evening.

Courtesy of Endicott sports information