WENHAM, Mass.—Gordon survived a bombardment of triples and pulled away with a dominant second-half performance in a 78-59 victory over the visiting Roger Williams Hawks. The third-seeded Fighting Scots' bench had a stellar day in limited minutes to help move Gordon into the Commonwealth Coast Conference semifinals on Thursday night.
The Hawks were fond of the Bennett Center environment during their regular season matchup in late January, making nine threes in a confidence boosting win over the Scots. Roger Williams was at it again in the first half of their quarterfinal matchup, making seven of their first eight attempt from behind the arch to hold the early lead.
Roger Williams led by as many as five points in the early going after back-to-back made threes by Zac Campbell (Woodbridge, Conn.). However the Scots never looked phased by the hot shooting of the Hawks, and played a smart inside-outside game on their offensive end.
The Hawks had no answer for CCC Defensive Player of the Year, Hans Miersma (Whitinsville, Mass.), underneath the hoop. Miersma made his first three shots before having to sit for the final 14 minutes of the half after picking up his second foul in the early going. With Miersma and Jason Dempsey in foul trouble in the first half, a slew of reserves stepped up to the plate in a big spot.
Dominic Paradis (Rochester, N.H.), Shaun Roach (Weymouth, Mass.) and Richie Armand (Hempstead, N.Y.) provided a huge spark for the Scots off the bench. The three combined five-for-nine from the field for 16 first-half points to keep the Scots within striking distance.
With the game tied at 30 a side with 2:41 remaining in the first half, Paradis made the second of two free throws to give Gordon a one-point advantage. On the Scots next possession Park Thomas (Scottsdale, Ariz.) drained a long three of a dish from Paradis to give Gordon their largest lead in the first half.
The two teams traded buckets in the final minute and Gordon held a 36-32 advantage at the break.
Luke Hamilton (Mount Airy, N.C.) extended the Scots lead in the first 20 seconds of the second half and Gordon never looked back. The Fighting Scots consistently got stops on defense, while finding the mismatches against the undersized Hawks on offense.
Roach's wide-open three with 11:57 remaining in the game gave Gordon their largest lead of the contest at 56-36.
Roger Williams tried to battle back over the final quarter of the game, but could never get back within a single-digit deficit. Gordon's outstanding defensive effort led to a 41-19 advantage on the glass and the Hawks were only able to make three of their final 18 attempts from deep.
Josh Syska (Peabody, Mass.) led all scorers with 16 points on five of nine shooting. CCC Second-Teamer Ryan Palumbo (Warwick, R.I.) scored 13 points and dished six assists, while adding three steals to boot. Campbell started the game making his first four threes, but the freshman cooled down in the second half and finished with 13 points.
Miersma had an efficient game with 16 points and seven rebounds, despite only attempting seven shots from the floor. Thomas battled Palumbo well and finished with 11 points, seven assists and three steals. Dempsey did not make a shot from the field, but added 12 huge rebounds—four of which came on the offensive glass.
The biggest difference on the night was Gordon's bench. Despite Alex Carnes (Phoenix, Ariz.) finishing well short of his scoring average, the Scots' reserves finished with 35 total points, outscoring the Hawks' bench by 18 points.
Gordon awaited the winner of the Eastern Nazarene-Wentworth game, which finished only two minutes after. The Leopards pulled off the only upset of the CCC Quarterfinals, edging the No. 2 Lions 81-78 in Quincy. The Wentworth victory means the Scots will host a semifinal matchup between the two schools on Thursday at 7 p.m.
Gordon and Wentworth split the season series, with the visiting team winning each game.