WORCESTER, Mass.—Gordon continued its second-half surges to win its fourth consecutive game, 77-61 over host Worcester State. The Fighting Scots got another 20-point performance from sophomore Garrisson Duvivier (Brockton, Mass.) and Gordon avoided a lull in the first half to improve to 6-2 on the season. Worcester State remained winless at 0-8.
Each team carried multi-possession leads for large stretches of the first half in a seesaw opening 20 minutes of regulation. Worcester State jumped out to leads of 7-0 and 15-8, but Gordon never let the Lancers get to a double-digit threshold. Duvivier's 12 first-half points were key for the Fighting Scots to keep the game within striking distance and a pair of made threes by Dylan Marshall (Purcellville, Va.) off the bench helped build up a six-point lead in the late stages of the half.
Still, Worcester State battled back to take a slim 35-34 lead by scoring the final seven points of the half.
As it did in spurts in the first, Gordon's bench gave the visitors a much-needed jolt in the second half. Noah Szilagyi (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) and Graham Tienhaara (Holden, Mass.) each manufactured eight points in the final period, helping keep Worcester State from growing its lead to more than five.
Completing the narrative of the last three games, Gordon turned on the jets in the final minutes of regulation. Trailing 56-55 with just under seven minutes to go, Gordon outscored their hosts 22-5 for the remainder of the game. A turnaround in free throws has been a big development for the Scots during their win streak and it aided their comeback once again. Gordon made 12 straight amidst a 12-1 run to blow the game open in a four-minute span. A made three by Szilagyi essentially sealed Worcester State's fate, giving Gordon a 70-59 advantage with two to go.
The Fighting Scots were 18-of-19 from the charity stripe in the second half after going 4-of-7 in the first.
Duvivier's double-double (20 and 13 rebounds) led the Scots. The sophomore forward also tacked on team highs in assists (4) and steals (3). Sam Johnson's (Chatham, Mass.) streak of double-doubles ended at nine games, finishing just one rebound short at 10 points and nine boards. Szilagyi added 12 off the bench
The Lancers were led by a three-headed attack of Jamal Mustapha, Paul Brooks and Corey Gatta. The trio combined to score 43 of Worcester's 61 points on the evening.
Gordon puts its four-game streak on the line on Saturday when an athletic Daniel Webster (5-1) squad comes to Wenham for a 3 p.m. start.