Starting off 2022, Gordon College Men's Basketball welcomed the Rams of Suffolk University to Kanas Court tonight for their first Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) matchup in almost a month. After a constant seesaw battle for the lead in the first half with both squads refusing to miss in the high scoring game, the Rams eventually broke through in the second half to clench the 111-99 win over the Fighting Scots. With the loss, Gordon drops to 4-5 overall and 1-3 in conference, while Suffolk improves to 9-2 (4-1 conference). 

Michael Makeij was hot for the Scots, bringing in a total of 33 points, a career-high for the sophomore, as well as collecting six rebounds. Meanwhile, Bryce Smith helped the Fighting Scots out with 15 points of his own to add to his already accomplished rookie season. Additionally, Garrett Sattazahn added 12 points to the board followed by Parker Omslaer and Justin Yu who each recorded 11 points, respectively. 

Suffolk was fronted by graduate student Nate Hale who went off tonight with a career-high 36 points. Teammate William Rowe wasn't too far behind him with 20 points while recovering 12 rebounds followed by John Gates who net 14 points for the Rams. 

How It Happened

• Both squads showed up in the first half, which the statistics sheet emphasized with a 56.1 field goal percentage from the Rams and 62.5 percentage from the Scots. The Rams knocked in the first basket of the game thanks to a three from Gates, however, the Scots quickly got on the board to take their first lead, 5-3. The Rams pulled ahead again but not for long as both squads traded the advantage until a 31-31 tie after each team traded a basket from downtown from Gordon's Treyton Tebbs followed by Suffolk's Conor Creane to take back the lead.
• The Fighting Scots got fired up with two back to back three-pointers from Zach Quanico and Justin Yu to regain the 37-34 lead for a short time before the Rams quickly clawed their way back by scoring seven points in a row to lock in their biggest edge fo the game so far (43-37) with 4:50 on the clock. Suffolk continued to hang onto their  upper hand, until Makeij brought the Scots to a 45-all tie in which the Rams refused to give up their lead, tacking on another ten points while Gordon kept up, slowly falling behind before Makeij hit another three to end the half down by just three points (55-52). 
• The Rams trotted back on the court determined to keep their lead, going on a seven point run in less than three minutes into the second before the Scots could get on the board again (62-52). Suffolk continued to hold their double digit advantage until the Fighting Scots shattered it with back to back layups from the hot hands of Makeij and Sattazahn to cut the deficit to seven with 11:19 left (68-75). The Scots chipped away to eventually come within four (76-80) thanks to consecutive layups from Smith and Omslaer.
• However, the Rams fought back to recover their sizable lead after an eight point run (88-76). Tebbs retaliated by hitting a shot from downtown before Suffolk's Hale sunk his sixth three-pointer of the night to give the Rams their biggest lead, 96-81 with less than five minutes on the clock. 
• In the remaining minutes the Fighting Scots continued to attack, but the Rams hit their foul shots down the stretch, as Hale added to his surplus of points, netting five out of six at the free throw line in the last minute of play to give Suffolk the eventual 111-99 win. 

Beyond The Box Score

• Michael Makeij crushed a career-high points tonight with 33 in 27 minutes of play.
• The Fighting Scots continue conference play on Wednesday, January 12 when they play the University of New England at 7:30 p.m. on Kanas Court.