Box Score
WENHAM, Mass.—Playing at home for the first time during the 2013-14 season was the cure for a three-game losing streak, as the Gordon Men's Basketball squad controlled Worcester State en route to a 86-73 victory over the Lancers. Park Thomas (Scottsdale, Ariz.) had a career day with 25 points, nine assists and eight boards to lead the Scots in a dominant performance at the Bennett Center on Friday night.
The script for the Scots early in the season has been blitzing their opponents in the first half before giving up double-digit leads late in games, which led to a frustrating 0-3 start. Gordon hoped a game on their home turf would spark a turnaround with games at Salem State and against Endicott in the not-so-distant future.
Gordon continued its impressive first-half play by jumping all over the Lancers to start the game. The Scots built up a 19-5 lead just five minutes into the contest by going 7-for-8 from the field, including making their first three shots from deep.
Thomas came into the game 2-for-23 from the floor to begin the year, but the senior point guard looked confident early, scoring eight of the Scots' first 19 points without missing a shot.
The Scots' lead did not dip below nine points for the next five minutes, but the Lancers countered with back-to-back made jumpers by Richard Morrison (Milford, Mass.) and Brendan Rios (Easthampton, Mass.) cut their deficit to six.
Worcester State struggled from the floor in the first half—shooting 7-for-27 from the floor—but poorly timed Gordon fouls gave the Lancers 20 opportunities at the free throw stripe. The Lancers knocked down 14 of their free throws to keep them within shouting distance of the Scots at the break, as Gordon led 41-28 thanks to a 66% shooting percentage in the half.
The Lancers (0-3) came out red hot in the second half with Rios taking over the game in the half's first four minutes. The junior shooting guard made his first four shots in the second half and quickly cut Gordon's lead to two points at the 15:54 mark, forcing the Scots to burn a timeout.
Coach Tod Murphy rallied his troops during the 30-second break and the Scots looked like a different team for the remainder of the game. Alex Carnes (Phoenix, Ariz.) scored five points immediately following the timeout, including finishing an impressive three-point play that got the home crowd on its collective feet.
Rios and Dane Jobst (Athol, Mass.) did all they could to claw their way back into the game—going a combined 13-for-15 in the second half—but the combination of Carnes and Park was too much for the Lancers to defend.
The Scots (1-3) opened up a lead as big as 18 points in the closing minutes and they held on for a big non-conference win to notch their first victory of the season.
Jobst and Rios both finished with 20 points to lead the Lancers on the offensive end. Jobst completed the double-double with seven defensive rebounds and 11 total, while playing a time high 35 minutes. Marquez McKreith-Collins (Springfield, Mass.) chipped in eight points and six assists as well.
Thomas finished 9-of-10 from the floor, making all five of his shots from behind the arch. Carnes kept up his high scoring totals with 19 points and six rebounds. Hans Miersma (Whitinsville, Mass.) was a defensive menace with four blocks on the night, while pitching in 13 points on the other end.
Jason Dempsey (Wallingford, Conn.) was the only other Fighting Scot in double-figure scoring with 10 points off of the bench.
The Scots out-rebounded the visitors 37-28 and limited themselves to only 16 turnovers to preserve the game.
Worcester State will continue their four-game road trip to start the season at WPI on Tuesday, while Gordon travels to Salem State on the same night. The matchup with the Vikings tips off at 7:30 p.m.
