Nov 30, 2016
WENHAM, Mass.—Sophomore Garrisson Duvivier (Brockton, Mass.) lit up the box score over the final 25 minutes of play as Gordon was able to stave off Eastern Nazarene 85-82 in overtime. The Fighting Scots controlled the glass on both ends of the floor for much of the night, but the Lions rode the hot hand of Josh Rice (Hanson, Mass.) in the second half to force overtime. Gordon did just enough in extra time to improve to 2-1 at the Bennett Center this season.
The Fighting Scots inch up their record to 3-2 on the season, while the Lions drop to 3-3. It was the Commonwealth Coast Conference opening game for both sides.
Offense was a hard commodity to find in the early going as Gordon held a 9-8 lead more than 10 minutes into regulation. The Fighting Scots continuously got second looks at the rim, but Eastern Nazarene's defense held firm.
Gordon claimed its largest lead of the first half with eight minutes still on the clock when Jake Haar (Huntington Beach, Calif.) went on a 5-0 run all by himself with a pair of jumpers. With Gordon beginning to claim momentum, Corey Doran (Fairfield, Calif.) and Rice led the Lions back to an even score right before the half.
The lead changed hands several times in the early stages of the second half, but a three-pointer by rookie Noah Cheney (Bend, Ore.) put the Lions up by six with under seven to go¬—the team's largest lead of the night. Gordon responded right back with a 9-0 run conjured by the combination of Duvivier, Haar and fellow sophomore Josh Ribeiro (Attleboro, Mass.).
Once again, ENC countered back with long balls from Rice and Christian Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) before David Eddings (Endicott, N.Y.) gave the Lions the lead back with 1:55 to go.
Not to be outdone, Jaren Yang (San Francisco, Calif.) hit his biggest shot of the season on a step-back 15-footer and a possession later Duvivier sank two free throws to make it a three-point game. Eastern Nazarene ran a play for Rice coming out of a timeout and he obliged with his fourth of the game to send things to overtime.
Gordon never trailed in overtime, leading by as many as four in the process, and avoided a letdown in the closing moments to pull off the narrow victory.
Six players found their way into double-digit scoring with Doran leading all Lions with 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting. Rice was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field, including four deep balls. Lynch finished with 14 points and seven assists, while Anthony Petrilli (Sana Clarita, Calif.) had 10 and six respectively. Eddings and Cheney also chipped in 10 points.
Four Gordon starters accounted for the majority of the scoring for the Scots, led by Duvivier's 30 points and 14 boards. After seeing his rebound numbers down in each of the previous two games the forward exploded with a big effort over the final 25 minutes. Sam Johnson (Chatham, Mass.) had a season-low 11 points on just four makes, but pounded the glass to tie his career-high of 23, including 15 offensive rebounds. He has a double double in each game this winter.
Haar was workmanlike again with 16 points and a 66 percent mark from deep. Yang added 13 and two assists.
Gordon outrebounded Eastern Nazarene 51-28 for the game, besting its best rebound margin mark of 22 against Elms in the season opener. The Fighting Scots are now at +14.2 per game for the year.
The Lions were able to remain tight through due to a stellar shooting night from the field. Eastern Nazarene shot a whopping 60 percent from the floor in the second half and nearly 52 percent for the entire contest.
Things stay tough for the Lions as they host No. 24 Endicott on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. Gordon heads to Western New England for its first conference road game on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Of Note:
• Johnson entered the night as the second leading rebounder in the nation, two behind Tyheim Monroe of Cabrini University. Monroe racked up 14 boards in a win against Rosemont, giving Johnson back the lead entering the weekend.