After a quick turnaround, Gordon College Men's Basketball returned to the Kneller Athletic Center at Clark University to face UMaine Augusta (UMA) on the second day of the Clark Tournament. The Fighting Scots returned to the win column after defeating the UMA Moose, 78-69. With the victory, Gordon evens out their overall record at .500 (4-4), while their opponents drop to 3-12 on the year.

Michael Makiej was everywhere for the Scots as the sophomore booked a double-double with 26 points and 13 boards. Rounding out the top performers for Gordon were Bryce Smith who had 16 points and Garrett Sattazahn who also booked a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

UMA's effort was led by Elijah Smith's 27 points and Eric Crawford's 10 points.

How It Happened

• UMA drew first blood thanks to a Smith layup, however, both sides went point for point in the opening minutes before UMA looked to gain control by hitting their next three looks to take an 11-5 advantage. Despite UMA carrying their lead, Gordon continued to hit their shots, coming within two points a trio of times throughout the first half. 
• With 6:08 left until halftime, Sattazahn hit a jumper to pull his team within three (31-28). Less than 60 seconds later, Sattazahn got the offensive rebound and quickly swung it out to teammate Smith who buried a shot from three-point land to lock the score up at 31-all. The score would remain still for the next two minutes as neither team could find the bottom of the net until Makiej and Smith ran the court for back-to-back layups to cap off a nine-point run and to go on top, 35-31 with just under three minutes in the first half.
• The Moose rattled in a three pointer for their first points in nearly five minutes of action to make it a one point game, but Makiej continued to see nothing but net as the sophomore put a layup in to give Gordon a 37-34 lead at the break.
• Similarly to the start of the first half, both teams went shot for shot to open up the second with Gordon holding onto the slight edge, spearheaded by Makiej who scored six of his sixteen second half points in the opening three and a half minutes.
• The Scots opened it up at the 10:24 mark thanks to a Sattazahn three to give Gordon its first double digit lead of the game (10). UMA continued to fight back, but Gordon's steady offense kept their opponents at an arm's length, leading by seven or more points down the stretch en route to a 78-69 win over UMA.

Beyond The Box Score

• Michael Makiej has recorded his second double-double of the season. Additionally, the sophomore brought down a career-high 13 rebounds in today's matchup.
• Garrett Sattazahn notched his first double-double of the season as well as securing a career-high 12 rebounds.
• Zachary Bennett dished out a career-high five assists in the win.
• The Scots return to action on Tuesday, January 4 as they travel to Bristol, Rhode Island for a conference match-up against the Roger Williams Hawks at 7:30 p.m.