Marinkovic also pulled down 10 rebounds, while senior guard Zach Ellis (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) dropped in 17 points, including five three-pointers, to help Endicott raise its record to 14-7 overall and 11-1 in the CCC.
Endicott led by just four at intermission, but posted 49 points in the final 20 minutes to get the win.
Sophomore point guard Todd Burton (Lynn, MA/St. Mary’s) was 6-of-8 from the floor in picking up 13 points and freshman forward Joey Burgos (Lawrence, MA/Lawrence) provided a solid 15 minutes off the bench, scoring seven points on 3-of-3 shooting for the Gulls.
Endicott will host Curry College Saturday afternoon (3) and will host its first annual Reverse Raffle that evening at Endicott’s Tupper Hall beginning at 6:00 PM.
Marinkovic became the second men’s basketball player this season to enter the Gulls’ 1,000-point club. He joins senior co-captain Matt George (Dover, NH/Dover) and eight former Endicott men’s basketball stars in the elite group.
Marinkovic has played in every game for the Gulls and put up some impressive numbers in the process. He stood at 999 points entering Tuesday night’s Commonwealth Coast Conference game at Eastern Nazarene College and left little doubt about reaching the magic number.
“It’s quite an honor for any player, and it’s exciting to see it happen. But to do in your junior season is really special,” said Endicott head coach Chris Millette. “Nemanja is a mature and unselfish person who plays the game the right way.
“Having two players reach 1,000 points in the same season is an example of the high level this program has maintained over the last few seasons.”
The 6-foot-4 power forward is averaging 12.9 points per game in his illustrious career with 602 rebounds (7.8 per game), 168 assists and 96 steals. Marinkovic has only fouled out of three contests – all in his freshman season – and he’s a .506 shooter from the floor in 76 career games.
Marinkovic is eighth in the CCC this season in scoring (13.4), field goal percentage (.527) and free throw percentage (.776). He is also fourth in rebounding per game (8.1), second in defensive rebounding per game (6.25) and 14th in offensive rebounding per game (1.80).
Marinkovic is the fourth player in the past three seasons to reach the 1,000-point plateau, joining George, Josh Oxton (2001-2005) and Jeremy Currier (2000-2004). Other EC players with 1,000 points or more include Jon D’Orlando (1994-1998), Eric Simonelli (1998-2001), Andy Kirk (1998-2002), and Jason Diaz (1998-2002).
Melissa Tarpey (1994-1998), Heidi Stevens (1996-2000) and Sarah Duffy (1997-2001) are the women’s basketball players in Endicott’s 1,000-point club.
George and Marinkovic will be honored before Endicott’s home contest versus Curry College Saturday afternoon at MacDonald Gymnasium. The Gulls are 14-7 overall and their 11-1 conference record puts them in a first place in the CCC North Division with Gordon.
Newspaper Box Score ECM vs ENC 02/07/06 8:00 PM at Quincy, MA At Quincy, MA ECM 80, ENC 63 ECM (14-7, 11-1) Zach Ellis 6-14 0-0 17; Nemanja Marinkovic 6-9 1-1 13; Todd Burton 6-8 1-2 13; Gary Corbett 3-6 1-1 8; Francis Mayi 2-2 3-4 7; Joey Burgos 3-3 1-5 7; Mike Sullivan 2-2 2-2 6; Matt George 1-2 3-4 5; JM Ramsey 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 29-47 16-25 80. ENC (3-19, 2-11) Ricardo Jean-Noel 5-13 0-0 13; Luc Jasmin 2-6 6-10 10; Christian Corey 3-10 0-0 9; Tristan Shields 3-7 3-5 9; Ryan Seaberg 2-10 2-2 7; Dave Chrisos 2-5 2-4 6; Andrew Brown 3-7 0-0 6; Jean-Paul Marcellus 1-4 1-2 3; Dan Shaw 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 21-67 14-23 63. ECM 41 39 80 ENC 37 26 63 3-point goals-ECM 6-15 (Zach Ellis 5-12; Gary Corbett 1-2; JM Ramsey 0-1), ENC 7-23 (Christian Corey 3-9; Ricardo Jean-Noel 3-8; Ryan Seaberg 1-4; Dave Chrisos 0-1; Jean-Paul Marcellus 0-1). Fouled out--ECM-None, ENC-Dan Shaw. Rebounds-ECM 37 (Nemanja Marinkovic 10), ENC 40 (Tristan Shields 8). Assists-ECM 21 (Matt George 5), ENC 13 (Ryan Seaberg 6). Total fouls-ECM 17, ENC 23. A-125