BIDDEFORD, Maine -- The University of New England men's basketball team built a 29-point cushion (92-63) midway through the 2nd half, but needed to hold on down the stretch for a 121-113 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) result against Gordon College on Wednesday night (Nov. 29) at the Harold Alfond Forum.
Facing a 107-87 deficit with 5:28 to go, the Fighting Scots notched 16 of the next 18 points in a span of three minutes to get back within single digits. Eric Demers sliced the margin to four (111-107) with 1:28 left, only to see UNE's Ryan Matthews score three the hard way 20 seconds later and bump the spread up to 114-107.
Drew Coveney blocked Gordon's chance to reduce the gap from 116-109 at the 0:41 mark, and the comeback bid by the visiting squad soon ran out of time.
The Nor'easters (2-4, 1-0 CCC) were guided by 25 points from Gavin Dibble, who also grabbed a game-best four steals. Daron Hoges, Jr. and Matthews tallied 14 and 13 points, respectively, while 11 apiece came from Coveney (all in 2nd half) and Ryan Beatty. Hoges and Drew Patno shared the team-high of six rebounds, and Coveney added seven assists to his line.
UNE's win ended a five-game skid against the Fighting Scots (1-2, 0-1 CCC).
Gordon received a game-high 29 points and eight rebounds out of Demers, who drained 7-of-14 attempts from long range. Garrisson Duvivier posted a double-double in the 2nd half alone, and wrapped up the evening with 19 points and 16 caroms. After Jaren Jang put forth 13 points to go with six assists, Noah Szilagyi and Matt Valles accounted for 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Demers (20), Duvivier (14), Jang (13), and Szilagyi (11) combined for 58 of 69 points following intermission for the Fighting Scots, who secured a 57-49 advantage on the glass.
Early on, the Nor'easters turned in a 10-0 spurt to take the lead for good at 18-12. The gap widened (46-25) with a 12-2 run later in the period, and the difference settled on 16 (60-44) at halftime.
UNE welcomes in Roger Williams University on Saturday (3 p.m.) for another league duel.