WENHAM, Mass.—It's hard to find a word to describe exactly what the last 10 days have been for the Gordon Men's Basketball team and their staff.
 
The Scots kicked off the CCC Tournament with back-to-back wins against opponents who had defeated them at the Bennett Center during the regular season. Then they were a pair of free throws away from hosting a conference championship game, which would have sent the campus into a tizzy. Instead the Fighting Scots traveled to Dudley for a championship matchup with a Nichols' team that had found a way to sweep them during conference play.
 
For the better part of 30 minutes, Gordon looked well on their way to a second loss in the conference championship in as many years. Nichols, the second highest scoring team in the Commonwealth Coast Conference, did what they had done all year en route to a 16-2 record in conference play—they scored.
 
The Bison led by 17 points with just over 10 minutes to play and the buzz of a near-capacity crowd was starting to taste the joys of a championship only minutes away.
 
But something happened in those precious minutes that changed the trajectory of two schools' seasons. In the time it takes to walk from Fulton to Barrington, Gordon erased what had appeared to be an insurmountable lead thanks to big shots and even bigger stops by a slew of upper classmen.
 
When Luke Hamilton nailed the second of two free throws to extend Gordon's last-minute lead to two possessions with only a few ticks remaining on the clock, the Wenham campus erupted into a state of frenzy and disbelief.
 
The Scots (17-10) were heading back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years.
 
Monday afternoon was filled with nerves, despite know the team was guaranteed a spot in the 62-team draw. Well-informed prognosticators predicted the Fighting Scots might end up as a four seed in a pod with national powerhouses Williams or Cabrini and as one of the few teams with less than 20 wins in the tournament, the notion made sense.
 
The Scots watched three brackets get announced without their name being called, including possible destinations like Amherst or Cabrini. Williams came on the board halfway through the bottom bracket, but Mitchell College drew the Ephs as the fourth seed in the regional pod.
 
Only a few seconds later, Gordon finally heard their positioning announced by the NCAA. Predictions were half right when they said the Fighting Scots would head to Williamstown, Massachusetts. If Gordon wants a shot at the top-seeded Ephs, they will have to first get past two seed Babson, who earned an at-large bid out of the NEWMAC.
The Beavers are one of the most talented teams in the Northeast region and finished just a game behind nationally ranked WPI in the NEWMAC standings this year. Both Babson and WPI were upset in the conference semifinals, which opened the door for four teams making the national tournament from the league.
 
Babson (20-6) is led by freshman Joey Flannery, who finished as the NEWMAC Rookie of the Year who averaged 19.1 points and 6.1 rebounds in one of the elite conferences in the region. Flannery also became the first-year in the history of the league to win Player of the Year honors.
 
Gordon's advantage over many of the teams in the CCC during the regular season is its size with two-time Defensive Player of the Year, Hans Miersma, and junior forward Jason Dempsey. Dempsey flourished over the final half of the season, while Miersma became the all-time and single-season record holder for blocks at Gordon.
 
No such advantage is in store for the Scots when they tip-off on Friday night at 6 p.m. Babson boasts a front court of David Mack and John Wickey, who stand at 6'6" and 6'7" respectively. Wickey in particular presents a new challenge for the Scots as a "stretch four." Despite his status as the tallest player on the Beavers' squad, Wickey is one of Babson's top three-point shooters, attempting 126 on the year.
 
Despite their mix of high-scoring players, the Beavers put a lot of pressure on their starters to make up most of their scoring on a game-to-game basis. Gordon's bench has come on well in the second half of the season and the Scots could have the advantage if they force Babson into foul trouble early in the game.
 
The Scots will need complete game efforts from their three players who earned All-CCC accolades this winter—Miersma, Alex Carnes and Park Thomas—if they want to pull off their second upset in a week's time. The momentum carrying over from last weekend's championship game won't hurt either as the Scots look for their first NCAA win in program history. 



Check out Babson's break down by the numbers here.