ROCHESTER, N.Y.—Hans Miersma (Whitinsville, Mass.) led a highly efficient Gordon attack with a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds, as the Fighting Scots overcame a first half deficit to defeat SUNY New Paltz 78-73 in overtime. Once again the Fighting Scots were burdened with first-half foul trouble, but Gordon pulled together a strong defensive effort in the second half and overtime to secure victory in the third-place game of the Chuck Resler Tournament.
 
The first half was closely contested with neither team leading by more than six points. Gordon outshot New Paltz from the floor in the first half with an impressive 43% shooting percentage, but a combined 15 minutes of play from Miersma, Jaren Yang (San Francisco, Calif.) and Jason Dempsey (Wallingford, Conn.) due to foul trouble left the Scots undermanned. 
 
New Paltz made 16-of-23 free throws in the first half, while the Scots only went to the line nine times, making five of them. Gordon also outrebounded the Hawks in the first half—27-15—but New Paltz held a 44-40 lead at halftime in a high scoring stanza.
 
Gordon was able to slow the tempo of the game down in the second half after New Paltz dominated possession in the first. The Fighting Scots settled into running their half-court offense and methodically retook the lead late in the second half at 67-64. A three-pointer by New Paltz's Kevin Roach tied the game at 67 points apiece and sent the game into overtime.
 
In the overtime period, Yang and Dempsey took over the game for the Fighting Scots. After the Hawks scored the first four points of the five-minute period, Dempsey and Yang combined to score five straight points to regain a one-point lead. Roach combatted the run with two made free throws, but Gordon would shutdown the Hawks in the final two minutes. Back-to-back layups by Miersma and Dempsey gave Gordon its largest lead of the game at 76-73. Yang then made two free throws right before the end of overtime to ice the victory.
 
Gordon improves to 1-2 on the season, while New Paltz drops its fourth straight to begin the season. Dominic Paradis (Rochester, N.Y.), Yang and Taylor Bajema (Whitinsville, Mass.) all finished with 12 points, while Dempsey's overtime effort gave him 10 for the game. Sam Johnson (Chatham, Mass.) also had a strong game with nine points and nine rebounds.
 
Yang was named to the All-Tournament team after scoring 25 points and dishing six assists during the weekend. Gordon is back in action on Tuesday with a North Shore Cup matchup at home against Salem State.