Hitting the road for the first time after a four-game home stand, Gordon Men's Basketball traveled to Quincy, Massachusetts to take on Eastern Nazarene in non-league action and mustered up a late comeback to slide past the Lions, 77-75.
For the Scots,
Eric Demers notched 21 points while Garrisson Duviver dropped another double-double with 20 points and 11 boards en route to the Scots' ninth victory of the season and eighth straight.
The Lions were led by Garrett Crandell (Jr./Bristol, Tenn.) who came off the bench firing for 21 points, while Josh Rice (Jr./Hanson, Mass.), Jacob Waldroop (Jr./Newland, N.C.), and David Lopez (So./Miami, Fla.) scored 15, 14, and 13 points, respectively, in the loss.
Gordon travels to Framingham State on Friday, December 14 to try to make it nine in a row before breaking for the Christmas holiday. ENC is off until the roles are reversed as they travel to Gordon on New Year's Eve for a 1 p.m. tip-off.
How It Happened
- The Scots lone lead of the first half came at the 18:49 mark when Noah Szilagyi hit a three to put the Scots up 3-2 before the Lions hit their stride, leading by as many as 12 during the first frame.
- Behind a pair of threes from Avelino Damoura and Jake Haar along with some timely free throws from Demers, the Scots were back within four with just under seven minutes to play before the break.
- Also relying on the three point ball, ENC hit two late to extend the lead to 12 with just under a minute remaining, but the Scots kept their eyes on the prize, narrowing the gap to eight after a fast break layup from Szilagyi left them trailing ENC, 39-47, going into half.
- The Lions kept the lead in double-digits for almost half of the second thanks to the combo of Crandell, Waldroop, and Lopez, but with five minutes to go in regulation Gordon put ENC on notice, going on a 17-point run with some clutch three point buckets from Demers to take a 76-72 lead with 18 seconds remaining.
- ENC climbed back after Rice nailed a shot from downtown to bring the home team within one with three ticks left on the clock. After the basket, the Lions quickly fouled in hopes of getting another opportunity, but Duviver hit a free throw to ice the 77-75 comeback W.
Beyond The Box Score:
- The Scots snatched 10 steals tonight which marks the third time this season they have booked double-digit steals. They won each of those games– Emerson (105-85), Wentworth (66-47), ENC (77-75).
- The last time the Scots won nine in a row was at the end of their 2012-2013 season.
- Said Head Coach Tod Murphy: "There is an old expression that says, 'It's better to win ugly than lose ugly.' We proved that tonight, because tonight was ugly, but we still won. ENC beat us in most ways except on the scoreboard. We made the plays and hit the shots when we needed them, but we really didn't deserve to win tonight. The only thing I could say in the locker room after the game was that in order to have a special season, you need have a couple of wins like that. We will take it, but it didn't feel very good."
