Box Score
QUINCY, Mass.—The Gordon Men's Basketball team pushed their win streak to five games with a complete-game victory over rival Eastern Nazarene on a snowy Saturday afternoon. The Scots never trailed by more than four points in the game and held off the host Lions for a 67-60 win to improve to 6-2 in Commonwealth Coast Conference play.
 
After a back-and-forth opening 12 minutes, the Gordon utilized a 9-2 run to gain a seven-point edge late in the first stanza. Neither team was able to get any offensive consistency going in the first half, as both offenses hovered below the 30% shooting mark for a majority of the period.
 
The Lions held Gordon to its lowest scoring half of the season, but the Scots still held a six-point advantage at halftime, 20-14. Gordon's suffocating defense held Eastern Nazarene to only five made shots from the field in the first half and 1-of-6 shooting from behind the arch.
 
Both offenses found plenty of success in the second period in what became a game of runs. The Scots were able to extend their lead to double-digits twice in the second half, but every time the Lions would cut back into the hole with a run of their own.
 
Eastern Nazarene cut the deficit to three points with 6:52 left to play, 45-42, as Hard sank a three-pointer from the top of the key. A lay-up by Lequan Gomes with 2:34 remaining pulled the home team to within two, 54-52.
 
However, Gordon responded with five consecutive points to increase its lead to seven with 1:29 on the clock. Jaylen Owens nailed a three-pointer from the left corner with 18 seconds left to play to narrow the margin to five, 65-60, but the Lions were unable to score again as Gordon ran out the clock.
 
The Lions shot 32.8% from the floor in the game while draining 10 treys on 27 attempts. The Fighting Scots finished the contest with a field-goal percentage of 48.8% to go with 33.3% shooting from beyond the arc.
 
Jaylen Owens (Johns Creek, Ga.) finished with a game-high 18 points while collecting seven rebounds and three assists. Jeremy Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) poured in 12 points on the afternoon. Brian Hard (Weymouth, Mass.) chipped in with nine points off the bench and Lequan Gomes (Fairfield, Calif.) registered a team-best eight rebounds.
 
Hans Miersma (Whitinsville, Mass.) registered his seventh double-double of the season with 15 points and 13 rebounds. He also maintained his status as one of the best shot-blockers in the country with four more to his season total of 51 deflections. Miersma is two blocks away from breaking his career-high total.
 
Park Thomas (Scottsdale, Ariz.) scored 10 of his 13 points at the charity stripe, while Jason Dempsey (Wallingford, Conn.) had his second best total of the season with 11 points. Alex Carnes finished with 10 points. The Scots out-rebounded the Lions 42-29.
 
Gordon will look to take another step towards the top spot in the CCC standings when Roger Williams comes to town on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.

Portions taken from ENC Sports Information release