Box Score
In Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) men’s basketball action tonight in Gordon’s Bennett Athletic Center, the Fighting Scots extended their winning streak to five with a 79-71 win over the visiting Golden Bears of Western New England University. The Scots now stand at 12-5 overall, 7-3 in conference, while the Golden Bears drop to 6-11 overall, 4-6 in league.

Gordon’s outing was paced by senior forward David Dempsey (Wallingford, Conn.) with 25 points, four rebounds, and three assists, while junior guard Park Thomas (Scottsdale, Ariz.) was the next highest scorer for the Scots with 13 points to go with five assists. Also contributing heavily to the effort were junior guard Alex Carnes (Phoenix, Ariz.) with 11 points and five boards and sophomore center Hans Miersma (Whitinsville, Mass.) with 11 points and three rebounds.

Overall Gordon shot an impressive 55 percent (30-55) from the floor with 40 points in the paint en route to the eight-point victory.

Western New England’s night was led by junior center Dennis Rinaldi (Harrison, N.Y.) with a team-high 18 points and three rebounds and sophomore guard Musa Elsir (Springfield, Mass.) with 11 points and eight boards.

The first half was back and forth as the Scots jumped out to a six-point lead (8-2) to which the Golden Bears responded with an 8-0 run to overtake the advantage. That lead would trade several more times before junior guard Shaun Roach (Weymouth, Mass.) hit a pair of free throws, Dempsey converted a three-point play at the line off a dunk, and Carnes closed the half with a buzzer beater from behind the arc to put Gordon ahead, 39-29, at the break.

After a flurry of scoring by both teams to open the second, the Scots pushed their lead to as many as 17 at the 8:44 mark. Though WNE was able to narrow that gap to just five with 57 seconds remaining, Dempsey iced the game with a trio of points from the line to lift Gordon to the CCC win.

Gordon committed just five turnovers on the night while blocking six of the Golden Bears’ attempts.

The Scots return to the court on Saturday, January 26 for a 3 p.m. start at Curry. Western New England plays host to Nichols on the same day at 3 p.m.