WENHAM, Mass.—An offensive showcase in the first half gave Gordon Men's Basketball a big lead it never relinquished in an 83-69 win over Elms in the season opener for both sides. The Fighting Scots trailed by less than a minute during regulation to win their second consecutive home opener.

The Fighting Scots (1-0) found their shot from the outside early, as sophomore Jake Haar (Huntington Beach, Calif.) got hot. Haar hit six of seven shots from behind the arch in the first half to push the Gordon lead to as many as 18 points during the opening 20 minutes.

Gordon's second-chance opportunities also played a major role in its control over the game with the Fighting Scots outpacing their opponents 16-4 off of offensive boards.

Elms struggled to find a groove from the field in the first half, but a perfect mark at the charity stripe allowed to stay within 10, 45-35, at the break. Senior Conny Ihearahu (Largo, Md.) made all 10 of his attempts from the line, while Symon Smith (Oklahoma City, Okla.) went 2-for-2. The Blazers shot just 26.5 percent from the floor in the first half, while Gordon had a sterling 19-for-34 pace.

The Blazers found their touch from outside at the beginning of the second half, closing the gap to just three points while making four straight triples. However, Gordon went on a 10-0 run in less than two minutes of gameplay as the Scots' bigs got into the scoring action. With the Blazers focusing more on stopping Gordon's red-hot outside attack, Garrisson Duvivier (Brockton, Mass.) and Sam Johnson (Chatham, Mass.) found plenty of room to work under the hoop to combine for 22 points in the final period.

Elms was never able to get closer than eight points for the remainder of regulation.

For the Blazers:

• Ihearahu and Smith each chipped in 20 points to lead the Elms attack. The two combined to go 14-for-15 at the line.
• Ihearahu led the team with five steals and six rebounds.
• Freshman DeAngelo Cousar (Bowie, Md.) added 13 off the bench while making three shots from deep.

For the Scots:

• Duvivier led all scorers with 23 points and was consistent with a 12-11 split between the two halves. He finished a rebound shy of a double-double in 27 minutes of work.
• Haar did all his scoring in the first half, finishing 6-of-8 from deep for 18 points.
• Johnson, who led the Commonwealth Coast Conference in double-doubles last year, added his first of the season with a solid 17 points and 22 boards. He finished just one rebound short of his career high of 23, which he accomplished at Nichols last season.
• Jaren Yang (San Francisco, Calif.) had an efficient 10 points and five assists from the point.

Quick Hit:

• Gordon was second in the country in rebounding margin last winter and showed similar results in game one. The Fighting Scots held a +22 advantage for the contest, which is the program's third best mark over the last three seasons.

What's Next?

Both teams head to central New York for separate tournaments this weekend. Elms will take on RPI and SUNY Plattsburgh in Rochester while looks to keep their good start going against SUNY Potsdam on Friday night at 6:00 p.m.