Fighting Scots rally past Bears for 87-72 win

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POTSDAM, N.Y.—Gordon College (2-0) rallied from a halftime deficit to defeat the SUNY Potsdam men's basketball team (0-2) 87-72 at Clarkson University on Friday night in the first round of the North Country Invitational. Senior captain Josh Blagrove (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Ford) led the Bears with 16 points and seven boards and freshman guard Jayquan Thomas (Hollis, N.Y./Richmond Hill) added 15 points. Garrisson Duvivier scored a game-high 22 points and dished out five assists for the Fighting Scots, while Sam Johnson recorded a double-double with 19 points and 14 rebounds.
 
Potsdam started quickly, racing out to a 14-4 lead just 3:19 into the contest. Strong free throw shooting allowed the Bears to extend their lead to 22-8 at the 12:41 mark. Gordon started chipping away after a three-point play by Thomas gave Potsdam its biggest lead of the game at 14. A 3-pointer by Josh Ribeiro capped a 22-11 Fighting Scots run and closed the gap to 33-30. However, five points from Blagrove and four from sophomore guard Nosa Onabor (Brooklyn, N.Y./Northside Charter) allowed the Bears to end the half on a 9-2 stretch and take a 42-32 advantage into the break.
 
Gordon came out shooting to start the second half. A 16-5 run and a Johnson layup put the Fighting Scots back in front for good 48-47 with 16:44 to play. A Thomas layup at 14:07 kept the Bears within 53-51, but Gordon outpaced Potsdam over the remainder of the contest. Another three-point play from Thomas made it an 83-72 game with 1:20 left before the Fighting Scots closed out the 87-72 win.
 
Sophomore forward Serigne Kane (Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooklyn Prep) scored 10 points for the Bears and Onabor finished with nine points, eight rebounds and four assists. Jaren Yang and Graham Tienhaara each had 10 points for Gordon.  
 
The Bears now await the loser of the Clarkson-St. Joe's Long Island contest for tomorrow's consolation game at 2 p.m.