NEWPORT, R.I.—Gordon Men's Basketball ran its conference win streak to three games and pulled to .500 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference with a 67-50 win over Salve Regina. The Fighting Scots used a 20-5 run over the final eight minutes to break open a close game and avenge a home loss to the Seahawks back in January. Hans Miersma (Whitinsville, Mass.) scored a game-high 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting to lead Gordon to a pivotal away win.
 
The Fighting Scots used its third different starting lineup in as many games, as they continue to play without senior captain Taylor Bajema (Whitinsville, Mass.). Gordon's two-point-guard strategy worked in the early going with the Scots racing out to a 12-5 lead over the first five minutes and change. Jaren Yang (San Francisco, Calif.)  hit a game-opening three before the big men got involved for the Fighting Scots.
 
Miersma was an efficient force all game for the Scots, as was fellow senior Jason Dempsey (Wallingford, Conn.), with Gordon trying to feed the ball to the low post. Gordon's advantage in size forced Salve to attempt 19 three's and unlike in the first meeting, the Seahawks could only convert on five attempts from deep.
 
Salve Regina battled back to eventually take a one-point lead at 17-16 on a triple by Eric Mackinnon (South East, Mass.) and again at 19-18 on a pair of free throws by freshman Bryce Boggs (Hyde Park, Mass.). However, Gordon freshman Dylan Marshall (Purcellville, Va.) continued where he left off from Wednesday and buried a three to give the Scots the lead for good at 21-19.
 
After Yang gave the Scots a six-point lead in the final two minutes, Salve's Chris O'Keefe (Lexington, Mass.) counted with a deep three of his own to make it a 29-26 game in Gordon's favor at the half.
 
The Scots grew a lead to eight by the halfway point of the second half when Salve made another stab at the deficit. Seven consecutive points from three different Seahawks cut Gordon's advantage to only one with 8:19 to play. A couple of key layups for Hans Miersma and a three by Craig McFarlane (Hackensack, N.J.) on a kick out ballooned the Scot lead back to eight before the Seahawks could blink.
 
Gordon was nearly perfect at the free-throw line down the stretch, including a 6-of-6 effort from Yang, and pushed the lead to as many 18 in the closing minutes. Yang now leads the conference in free-throw percentage at 87.5-percent and has made 14 in a row over the last two games.
 
Boggs led the way for the Seahawks with 14 points and seven steals. Local sophomore Nicholas Bates (Danvers, Mass.) picked up 12 points and seven rebounds. Gordon's stingy defense kept the clamps on Salve leading scorer Barrett Hanlon, who was held scoreless for the first time since coming back from injury in late January.
 
Miersma (22 points), Yang (16 points) and Dempsey (11 points) paced the Gordon O. Miersma and Dominic Paradis (Rochester, N.H.) combined for 13 boards as the Scots were outrebounded for the first time all year. The Fighting Scots thieved a season-high 12 steals, beating their previous high of 10 in a win at Worcester State over Christmas break. Yang led the way with three steals.
 
Gordon is back at home for the Bennett Center finale on Tuesday against Roger Williams The Fighting Scots defeated Roger Williams by five on January, which kick started an eight-game losing streak for the Hawks. Salve Regina is officially eliminated from CCC postseason play.