Gordon College Men's Basketball took the very short trip over the Beverly to face the Gulls of Endicott College for their second straight Conference of New England (CNE) contest this afternoon where the Gulls' late second half push secured the heartbreaking 79-78 win over the Fighting Scots.

Bernie McGuinness led the way for the blue and white with 20 points and 12 rebounds, Alex Daniel chipped in 16 points, while Isaac Jarvis netted 14 points today.

Drew Brown and Elijah Kinney each recorded 17 points for the Gulls, while Jeff Hill contributed 13 points. 

How It Happened

• Down by four midway through the first, Daniel hit a shot from downtown to make it a one point game (17-16). However, Daniel was not done, grabbing a steal before knocking in a layup to put Gordon on top, 18-17, all within a 20 second span. 
• Despite nearly a half dozen lead changes in the final minutes of the frame, the Fighting Scots' 10-2 surge put Gordon out in front 45-37 at halftime.
• Another 10-2 scoring spree from the blue and white widened the gap to 14 points with 11:28 to go regulation. For the next six minutes, the Scots kept the Gulls at a 10-point arm's length, but the home team scored 10 unanswered to make it a 76-all game with 1:35 on the clock. McGuinness made a jumper to put Gordon in front once again, but an "and one"in the final 10 seconds from the home team allowed Endicott to come away with the narrow win.

Beyond The Box Score

• Said Head Coach Tod Murphy: "I was really proud of our team tonight. We played really hard and should have won the game, but Endicott made the plays they needed to make late in the game to pull out the victory. It was a very tough game to lose after controlling the game most of the second half. We are becoming a team, which was not always the case last year. If we continue to give that type of effort, and play as a team, we will be a tough team to beat the rest of the season."
• Bryce Smith reached a season-high of eight assists this afternoon.
• Bernie McGuinness notched his first double-double of the season with a career-high in rebounds.
• Alex Daniel continues to be a problem offensively as the sophomore marked a new career-high in points today.
• The Scots return to action on Tuesday, December 10 as they host the University of New England Nor'easters at 7:30 p.m. as Gordon Athletics hosts Faculty Appreciation Night.