Box Score
In non-conference men's basketball action tonight at Gordon's Bennett Athletic Center, sophomore forward Hans Miersma (Whitinsville, Mass.) drained a buzzer-beating jumper to lift the Fighting Scots to a 69-68 win over the visiting Vikings of Salem State University. With the win the Scots improve to 1-1 overall while Salem remains winless at 0-3.

Miersma finished the night with an outstanding 21 points and 19 boards to pace the win for the Scots, while junior guards Park Thomas (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and Luke Hamilton (Mount Airy, N.C.) recorded 14 and 12 points, respectively, and senior forward David Dempsey (Wallingford, Conn.) chipped in eight points and 13 rebounds.

Salem jumped out to an early lead behind a bucket from Justin Nieves (Sr./Lawrence, Mass.) and a three from Tavone Wynder (Sr./Boston, Mass.), but Miersma and Dempsey quickly responded to bring the game back to even. The Scots then went on a 14-5 run over the next six minutes to establish a 19-10 lead with 12 minutes on the clock. They maintained the lead and were up by eight with just under two minutes remaining, but three consecutive three-point plays by Salem off Gordon fouls left the Scots down by one going into the break (38-37).

The second half proved even closer than the first as both teams vied for and traded the lead a total of nine times with neither team able to build more than a six-point advantage. With the Scots up by five with a minute and a half to play, Salem pushed the ball on offense to draw three fouls and convert five times from the line to leave the game at a 65-65 deadlock. Miersma then hit the go-ahead jumper in the paint with 14 ticks on the board, but Nieves responded immediately with a clutch three to give the Vikings the one-point lead with just seven seconds to go.

Although Dempsey missed the midrange jumper on the next trip down the court, Miersma collected the rebound and buried the put back to give Gordon their first win of the season.

Nieves finished the night with 17 points, seven boards, and five steals for Salem, while Andrew White (Jr./Medford, Mass.) recorded 15 points, five assists, and four steals, Nate Simpson (Sr./Lowell, Mass.) added 11 points and nine rebounds, and Wynder posted 11 points and six boards.

The Scots return to the floor on Wednesday, Nov. 28 as they travel to face conference opponent Western New England at 5:30p.m. Salem will host Babson on Saturday, Nov. 24 at 5 p.m.