Gordon College Men's Basketball hosted the Salem State Vikings tonight for the Fighting Scots' delayed 2021-2022 season-opener. The Scots came out ready to play as the blue and white sailed past the Vikings, 99-86.

For the Scots, Michael Makiej saw nothing but net as the sophomore scored 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Rookie, Bryce Smith netted 22, while Garrett Sattazahn, Caleb Scot, and David Massilon each booked 15, 10, and 10 points, respectively. 

The Vikings' effort was led by Sean Bryan who had a game-high 35 points and Conner Byrne who added a double double with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

How It Happened

• Gordon marched out to the early 6-0 lead before widening the gap as Smith buried back-to-back three pointers from downtown to give Gordon a 19-5 edge. The Scots extended their lead to 22-7 before the Vikings began to chip away, coming within three points (27-30) with just over five minutes to go in the half. However, the Scots regained the momentum and capped off the half with a pair of layups from Makiej in the closing seconds to take a 50-34 advantage at the break. 
• The Vikings returned to the court focused after the break, opening up the second, outscoring the Scots, 7-2 and were eventually able to cut their deficit to single digits. However, just as the Vikings were on the heels of the Scots, Gordon's Garrett Sattazahn drained a three before David Massilon hit a layup to regain the double-digit lead. Later, Scott rattled in two straight layups to go up by 20 points and took the eventual 99-86 victory.

Beyond The Box Score

• Michael Makiej netted a career-high 28 points in tonight's win.
• Freshman, Bryce Smith recorded 22 points in his collegiate debut.
• The Fighting Scots return to Kanas Court on Wednesday, December 1 to host cross-town rival Endicott College for their first Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) contest of the season at 7:30 p.m.