Returning to action after nearly a month lay-off due to Christmas break, Gordon College Men's Basketball took the short drive down to Endicott College for a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) tilt against the Gulls at the Post Center this evening. The Fighting Scots put the Gulls on their heels in the final minutes of action, erasing a 17-point deficit before taking a narrow three-point loss (84-81). 

For the Fighting Scots, Michael Makiej paced his squad with 24 points and nine rebounds, Garrett Sattazahn added 19 points, while Bryce Smith and Tyler Long netted 13 and 10 points, respectively. 

Endicott's Jalen Echevarria recorded a game-high 32 points, Jeff Hill had 16 points while Drew Brown chipped in 10 points in the win.

How It Happened

• The Gulls raced out to a quick 7-0 advantage, but it was immediately silenced by a Sattazahn three-pointer, a Makeij layup followed by another two points from Sattazahn to make it a 7-7 game at the 16:26 mark. From there, Endicott regained the slight upper hand before Zach Quanico gave his squad their first lead of the game with 11:17 remaining after draining a jumper from downtown (17-15). 
• Once again, the home team came rolling back as the Gulls locked it up at 17-all before taking control of the frame en route to a 50-32 lead at halftime.
• Both sides went back and forth in the opening minutes of the second before Gordon scored three straight layups to cut the deficit to 10 points with 14:35 remaining. The blue and white continued to fight down the stretch and once again trimmed the home team's lead, this time to single digits (72-80) with 2:39 remaining in regulation. 
• With 1:20 to go, Makiej made a great defense stop before converting a layup at the other end to make it a six-point game.
• The Scots continued to press on as Zachary Bennett got an offensive board and put it back in (76-80) with 57 ticks on the clock.
• Endicott's Echevarria hit one from the charity stripe to widen the gap to five points before Makiej and Bennett combined for Gordon's next five points, putting the score at 83-81 with nine seconds remaining. However, the Gulls were able to hold off the fiery Scots with the eventual 84-81 win.

Beyond The Box Score

• Rookie Tyler Long had a career-high 10 points.
• The Scots will practice tomorrow before welcoming the Wentworth Leopards on Thursday, January 5 at 7:30 p.m. on Kanas Court.