Box Score
WENHAM, Mass.—Led by the hot hand of senior point guard Park Thomas (Scottsdale, Ariz.), the Fighting Scots coasted by visiting Western New England 73-57. The Scots dominated the scoreboard in both halves thanks to a season-high 11 made shots from the behind the arch—including five by Thomas—and Gordon improved to 9-4 in Commonwealth Coast Conference play.
The Scots kicked off the conference matchup in exhilarating fashion with Thomas hitting a triple on a kickout from Hans Miersma (Whitinsville, Mass.) only seconds into the game. Luke Hamilton (Mount Airy, N.C.) added another basket from deep only a minute later and the Scots were well on their way to a 16-4 advantage.
With 8:29 on the clock in the first half, Richie Armand came off the bench to find Alex Carnes (Phoenix, Ariz.) wide open for another three, giving Gordon a 22-11 lead.
Over the next four minutes, the Golden Bears went on a 14-4 run to cut the Scots' hefty lead into a one-point game. Kevin Wilkes (Troy, N.Y.) came off the bench to spark Western New England's offensive explosion, while Nick DeFeo scored five minutes during the run.
Gordon shifted momentum back into their favor with a 13-5 run, with more than half of their points coming from the charity stripe. The Scots turned around their recent troubles at the free-throw line—shooting 80-percent from the stripe in the first half. Gordon carried a 39-30 advantage into the halftime break.
The Scots stretched their lead over the first 10 minutes of the second half. Freshman Dominic Paradis (Rochester, N.H.) scored eight straight points during the run, as the Scots found themselves up 58-41 with 10:52 to play in regulation.
Western New England responded to the deficit with a 9-0 run in only three minutes of game time. With their lead cut to eight points, Thomas and Carnes took over the game for the Fighting Scots. The seniors combined to hit three shots from deep on consecutive possessions to put plenty of distance between them and their opponents.
The Golden Bears could only muster four points over the final five minutes of play and the Fighting Scots finished off a game in which they never trailed, 73-57.
Dennis Rinaldi led Western New England with 12 points and nine rebounds. Ryan Micklewicz and Musa Elsir both totaled 10 points, but the Golden Bears struggled from the floor overall. Western New England outshot the Scots by 19 attempts, but finished with a 30.3-percentage from the floor.
Thomas had one of the best games of his senior season. In 27 minutes, the point guard slashed his way to 21 points—15 coming from behind the arch. Carnes also had a standout game with 16 points, seven rebounds and a team-high seven assists. Taylor Bajema (Whitinsville, Mass.) finished perfect from the floor and scored nine points in 28 minutes. Miersma was not a factor in scoring, but the junior forward notched 10 rebounds and three blocks.
Gordon looks to continue their three-game win streak on Saturday when they travel to take on Curry at 3 p.m.
