WENHAM, Mass.—In a game that came down to the final minute, Gordon was able to hold on to its halftime lead to beat UNE 80-72 in front of the home crowd at the Bennett Center on Tuesday night. The Fighting Scots held off the tides of several Nor'easter runs in the second half and made a plethora of free throws in big moments to keep pace in the top half of the Commonwealth Coast Conference standings.
Gordon needed to win in its regular season home finale to ensure a good chance at a home playoff bid when the CCC postseason begins next week. The Fighting Scots improved their chances, moving to 11-6 in league play and 14-10 for the year. The Nor'easters still have work to do this weekend to ensure their own bid to the dance, as they currently sit in eighth with a 5-12 conference record. The Nor'easters are 7-17 overall.
Stopping CJ Autry (Standish, Maine) was in the game plan for the Fighting Scots after he hit five threes in the first meeting between the two teams. Autry had other plans, hitting his second attempt from deep to put the Nor'easters up first as a part of a 7-2 start to the game.
With UNE in a zone, Garrisson Duvivier (Brockton, Mass.) was left open for jumpers further from the basket than the forward is usually accustomed to, but the sophomore obliged by making his first four attempts from the floor to help Gordon battle back into an advantage.
Gordon's reserves pushed the lead into double digits, as Sam Traicoff (Beverly, Mass.) and Dylan Marshall (Purcellville, Va.) each hit long threes to extend the run. Before UNE could blink, Gordon turned an 9-8 deficit in to a 33-18 lead with 5:28 to go in regulation. After Jaren Yang (San Francisco, Calif.) sank two free throws with 3:15 to go in the first, Gordon allowed the Nor'easters to claw back into the game before half. UNE scored 10 unanswered points in less than three minutes, including threes from Autry and Gavin Dibble (Greenport, N.Y.), but Gordon was able to take the 40-32 lead at half.
The Nor'easters never went away in the second half. On three separate occasions, Gordon hit a big shot to push the lead to double digits, only for the visitors to answer on the other end. Autry was virtually on fire for a stretch in the middle of the second half, not unlike his spurt in the first matchup.
UNE closed the gap all the way to two points at 72-70 with 2:29 to go in regulation, but Duvivier's well-timed offensive rebound off a Sam Johnson (Chatham, Mass.) miss went back up for a put back and a score.
Gordon held the Nor'easters to just one made bucket for the final two minutes and Yang iced things with six consecutive made free throws.
Autry surpassed his season-high with 19 points and a five-of-eight shooting night from three. Jean-Luc Parker (Georgetown, Texas) also had one of his best games of the year with 19 points and seven rebounds. Dibble added another 16 in a starting role.
Duvivier and Johnson each registered double-doubles for the Scots. Duvivier had a game-high 22 points and 11 rebounds. He continued to fill up the statsheet in other ways with six assists, four blocks and two steals. Johnson had a relatively quiet game by his standards with 12 points and 10 boards. Yang was second on the team with 14 points, while Jake Hart (Allendale, N.J.) continues to give Gordon big minutes with 10 points and six assists.
Gordon closes out the regular season with a trip to Salve Regina on Saturday.
