Dave Dempsey drives to give Gordon a short-lived 53-51 lead.

Sedale Jones glides in for two of his nineteen points

(Wenham) The last time Curry played at Gordon (February 27, 2010), the crowd at game’s end, poured onto the court to salute the Commonwealth Coast Champions after a Timmy MacDonnell steal preserved a 56-54 win.

After today’s game the crowd left the stands and went out the door wondering how the Scots can continue to fold late and squander winnable games.

The “had-and-lost” number reached six on Saturday afternoon as Gordon played a brutal final 6 ½ minutes blowing a nine-point lead (getting outscored 21-4) and losing to Curry, 61-53, at the Bennett Center.

Gordon (6-12 overall / 5-6 in CCC), despite the loss, holds the 7th spot in the ten-team CCC standings.  Eight teams make the post-season playoffs.  Fortunately today the three teams below them (ENC, UNE, WNEC) all picked up their 8th loss.  The Scots play UNE on Thursday and ENC on Saturday.

At 6:22 of the second half a Dave Dempsey (13 points) free throw put Gordon in front, 49-40.  You had to like the team’s chances at this juncture unless you had been around for the previous five games.

Off came the wheels over the next 3 ½ minutes and the Colonels collected eleven straight points.  The Scots had five empty possessions low-lighted by three turnovers and stumbled behind, 51-49, with 2:43 left.

But as was the case in most of the recent losses, the Scots went down but recovered to renew the hope of a win.  Dave Dempsey hit two free throws to tie the score. Then after a Sedale Jones miss, Dave drove the left side to give Gordon a 53-51 lead with 1:40 left.  Beware, excruciation ahead!

Curry scored ten straight points the rest of the way while the Scots turned the ball over (Alex Carnes), missed a 3 (Park Thomas), missed a 3 (Luke Hamilton), missed a putback (Hans Miersma), and missed a 3 (Luke Hamilton).

The Colonels made five of eleven triples in the game but were 3-for-3 in the late-game rally.  Brian Boyajian’s long one gave Curry the lead (54-53) after Dave’s layup.  Michael Connery’s triple on the Colonels’ next possession increased the Curry spread to 57-53 with thirty-seven seconds left.

Brian Boyajian triple (54-53)

Michael Connery triple (57-53)

Sedale Jones had a terrific stat line for Curry – 19 points / 7 rebounds / 2 blocks / 6 steals.

Dave Dempsey led Gordon with thirteen points but it took him fourteen shots to get there.

Park Thomas in Curry traffic

Dead Horse Assault Alert: Turnovers continue to be Gordon’s biggest problem.  Twenty-three more were served up this afternoon.  Those turnovers led to an alarming twenty Curry points!  Would a first-of-the-season backdoor cut dissuade every team’s overly zealous passing lane defenders?  The goal should be to produce a good scoring chance on each possession.

Good crowd on hand with numerous alumni in the house.  I saw Aaron Vogelzang, John Beebe, Ben Gaskill, and Timmy MacDonnell.

Curry (8-10 overall / 6-5 in CCC) faces UNE next Tuesday.

The Scots host Roger Williams on Tuesday night at the Bennett Center (8PM).  Gordon defeated RWU last time at Bristol.  Today RWU defeated Endicott at Bristol – go figure!

I think that it is accurate to say that in this year’s CCC there are no easy wins and no certain losses.  Any team (I’m looking at you, Gordon) can win if they play well……for an entire game. C’mon, stop the bleeding on Tuesday night!

(The pictures above and below enlarge if you click on them.)

Lambros Papalambros

Park Thomas and Michael Connery

happy ending for Curry

Hans Miersma shoots over John Durkin

Jon Himottu blocks Thomas McLean

Gordon crowd

AJ Stephens (15 points) and Jason Dempsey (6 points)

Gordon bench

David Dempsey (10 points & 12 rebounds)

(Newburyport) If you’re looking for the big smiley face from last night’s, 54-50, loss at Western New England (6-10 overall / 3-7 in the CCC) I’ll give you a little of that.  On the other hand, if you’re looking for some grim reality….read on.

The good stuff?  The Scots (6-11 overall / 5-5 CCC) rallied back from a 28-13 first half deficit to get into winning position.  It took a 29-14 surge over nearly sixteen minutes to do it but they did to gain a 42-42 tie with 6:31 remaining.

Another source of optimism is a look at the current Commonwealth Coast Conference standings.
Salve Regina    8-2
Endicott        6-3
Wentworth    6-4
RWU        6-4
Curry        5-5
Nichols        5-5
Gordon        5-5
UNE        3-7
WNEC        3-7
ENC        2-7

Eight teams make the post-season tournament.  The Scots are currently “in” the tournament and in good position to improve their positioning with victories ahead in the eight league games left.

Okay, enough of that happy talk.  Let’s get down to the reality of last night’s painful loss.  I know, every loss is “painful,” but if you’ve been following the Scots of late you’ve been through a succession of hard-to-swallow setbacks.  Last night fit perfectly into the pattern.

The losing streak has reached five and that lofty 5-0 conference record two weeks ago is now tenuous 5-5.  That gurgling sound we’re hearing of late is the sound of a promising season going down the drain.

In my opinion, the CCC consists of ten teams capable of winning on any given night/afternoon.  You look at the teams ahead of Gordon and you know that we’ve beaten one of them (RWU) and come close with the other three.

The key to last night’s loss was Daniel Minto.  Where’d he come from?  In the early season loss at Gordon, Daniel had two points in twenty minutes.

However, by the start of 2012, Daniel had been elevated by WNEC coach Mike Theulen to the starting lineup and has earned staying there.  He had thirteen points/thirteen rebounds against Salve Regina.  The 6-3 sophomore had twenty points/eight rebounds against Gordon.

He killed the Scots three times in the last minute to give the Golden Bears the win.  Gordon reader discretion advised!  (1) Down by two (50-48) with a minute left and with a chance to tie/go ahead, the Scots’ David Dempsey’s layup try is blocked by Daniel. (2) Ahead by two (50-48) with twenty-two seconds left, the Bears miss a layup but Daniel gets the offensive rebound and is fouled.  (3) Ahead (50-48) with 22 seconds left, Daniel makes both free throws to give the Bears a 52-50 lead.  A block, a rebound, and two free throws……..not a bad last minute!

A bigger look at this game reveals two continuing, correctable currents that have to be dealt with before it’s too late.

Turnovers.  There are turnovers and then there are turnovers that lead to opponent’s points.  The Scots give way too many of the latter.  Eighteen points worth to Western New England.  The transition from offense to defense after turnovers must improve dramatically or the ball movement (before the turnover) must get better.

Bench Points.  Still waiting for someone to come off the bench and make the difference in these close games the team faces regularly.  Versus Western New England the bench provided a pitiful four points.

Next for Gordon is Curry on Saturday afternoon (3PM) at the Bennett Center.  Both teams are 5-5 in the CCC.

Curry knows our pain.  Last night they lost to Nichols by two on a Nichols layup with three seconds left.  At least the winning dagger wasn’t on a long-range three by a hardly-used player!  Curry had twenty-six turnovers in the Nichols game.  This was a team that Gordon defeated in an earlier matchup at Curry.  Could this be the turning-point game???

The Gordon faithful watching at the Bennett Center and via the internet on Saturday afternoon know what I’m writing about and now the rest of you will find out.

Matt Langadas with the ball - Craig Merrick out of view to the left

Craig Merrick wide open on left wing

Craig Merrick releases the game-winner.

The Scots dropped their fourth straight as Nichols’ Craig Merrick drained a triple with four seconds left to give the visitors a thrilling, 71-69, win.  Meanwhile, The Faithful were stunned but not surprised.

Gordon (6-10 overall / 5-4 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference) has now dropped four straight CCC games and established an agonizing pattern in the losses.  They play well in the first half and squander their advantage in the second half because of sub-par defense and shaky ball management.

On Thursday, Wentworth pulled out a win over Gordon in the last six seconds when Derek Mayo connected on a triple for one-point win.  Then to follow two days later with this loss.  Very tough.

David Dempsey takes last shot

In both games David Dempsey has ended up taking desperation 3’s afterwards and come reasonably close both times.  The way things are going he may want to put some more practice into last-second shots!

In this one Gordon led by nine at halftime, 37-28, thanks to 57% shooting.  That lead reached eleven (44-33) on a Park Thomas three with 15:38 left.

Then the ride south took place as the nonstop Bison pressure began to pay off.  Less then eight minutes later Jessy Michaud’s long shot gave Nichols a 55-53 advantage.  (That was a 22-9 run for the visitors.)

The rest of the way?  Very exciting for both teams.  There were five ties, several lead changes, and neither team ahead by more than three.  Anybody’s game.

Nichols’ last 3-point lead was after a Ryan Sheehan layup at 1:27 but Alex Carnes followed with two free throws.  Then the Bison’s best 3-point shooter (Sam Horning) missed and Park Thomas followed with two pressure-packed free throws with thirteen seconds left to give the Scots a tenuous one-point lead.

A Nichols timeout brought Craig Merrick into the game.  The 6-6 junior had played three minutes in the first half and none in the second.  Why did Coach Dave Sokolnicki put him in the game?  He’s the team second-best 3-point shooter.

Hans Miersma stayed in the lane to discourage any last-second attempts from in close and that left the man he was guarding (Craig Merrick) with space beyond the 3-point line. Matt Langadas was able to get the ball to Craig on the wing and with four seconds left he cashed in the game winner.

David Dempsey (16 points) covers Matt Langadas (17 points)

Besides that crucial assist, Matt (freshman) had three others to go with a game-high seventeen points.  Matt is from the same high school (Lake Region – Naples ME) that Jon Marstaller played for.

David Dempsey (16) and Alex Carnes (15) paced Gordon.

Senior JT Himmelstein has re-emerged as an active player.

Taking care of the ball continues to be a team-wide problem.  The Bison gathered twenty points off of turnovers in the second half alone.  No way are we discussing a loss if those miscues had been fewer.

Nichols (6-10 overall / 4-5 in the CCC) had three freshman and a sophomore as their top four scorers.

Two positive takeaways from this game for me were: (1) the Scots hung with Nichols even after losing the eleven-point lead, and (2) the students were back and active.

Things are going to get better.

Next game is at Western New England (Springfield) on Wednesday night (7:30).  The team returns to the Bennett Center for a rematch with Curry on Saturday afternoon.

(The pictures above and below enlarge if you click on them.)

Jalen Graham & JT Himmelstein

Craig Merrick mobbed afterwards

Gordon dance team

JT Himmelstein

Mike Salis looks for an opening

Hans Miersma jam

Park Thomas before crucial free throws

A triple by Derek Mayo with five seconds left gives the Wentworth Leopards the win.

(Newburyport) This one was hard to watch…….and I’m not just writing about the live video from Wentworth.

Gordon squandered another second half lead, and lost to Wentworth, 60-59, at Wentworth on Thursday night. That “now-you-have-it-now-you-don’t” routine reached three.

(After a slippery drive out of Boston after a Monday night Celtics game, I chose not to be back in there with snow in the forecast after this game.)

Gordon (6-9 overall / 5-3 CCC) may not suffer a more painful loss then this one.  If so, I beg for some warning so that I will miss such a game!

The Scots shot very well (60%) in the first half to get ahead, got caught briefly (41-40 – 12:23) in the second half, then built up a solid eight-point lead (57-49) with 3:12 left.

After that?  Fingernails on the chalkboard time!  This was the sequence of Gordon possessions:
turnover (Luke Hamilton),
missed 3 (Park Thomas),
turnover (Hans Miersma) which gave Derek Mayo a layup, missed front end of 1-and-1 (Park Thomas),
turnover (Hans Miersma),
2 made free throws (Park Thomas) with 21 seconds left     to give GC a 2-point lead (59-57),
missed 3 (David Dempsey) at buzzer.

Wentworth (9-5 overall / 5-3 CCC) got two huge plays from sophomore Derek Mayo in the late, 12-2, run that pulled this one out for the Leopards.

On Derek’s first big play, one second Hans had a rebound and the next thing you saw was Derek making a layup. So instead of GC with a 57-53 lead, with the ball, and 1:28 left, the lead was cut to two points.

After Park’s two made free throws the Scots went in front by two with 21 seconds left.  After a timeout, the Leopards were very patient passing around the perimeter.  I thought they would try to get to the basket and at least get free throws but Derek got a pretty clear look from long range from the top of the key and connected for the game winner with five seconds left.  David Dempsey had a last-second shot from long range but missed.

The pain doesn’t get any less describing it!  This was truly one that got away.

Let me segue into a piece of information.  In the ten-team Commonwealth Coast Conference, eight teams make the playoffs.  When the Scots were 5-0 in the CCC that information didn’t mean much.  Now at 5-3, you start to wonder where the team will be after the next ten league games.

However, a discernable pattern has developed: 3 losses, 3 wins, 3 losses, 3 wins, and now 3 losses.  Gordon’s next three opponents (Nichols, Western New England, and Curry) should now know what to expect!

The Nichols game is Saturday afternoon (3PM) at the Bennett Center.  The Scots need some serious student support.

Park Thomas (season high seventeen points)

Park Thomas paced Gordon with a season-high seventeen points.  He has had only four turnovers in the last two games.

Hans Miersma had his second double/double (10 points/11 rebounds) of the season and added a season-high five blocks.  Should I mention his season-high also in turnovers (five) including two in the last 1 ½ minutes?  Didn’t think so!

Wentworth collected seventeen points off of Gordon giveaways.  In a low-scoring game, that’s a lot of points.

But there will be a second chance against Wentworth at home and Gordon certainly played well enough for the faithful to be able to look ahead optimistically at the rematch.

I don’t see many games on live video but after watching this one I can now feel the pain of those of you out there who do.  My eyes are old but it seemed as if almost everything was out of focus.  I appreciated the announcer keeping me up-to-date on player’s names (It’s BADGE-a-ma not bah-JAHM-a) but did he know that we have no view of the scoreboard??  And then there were the inopportune-time commercials.  We got to watch a 30-second commercial with play going on in the last minute……..now that was painful!  But, if you’re from Wentworth reading this, I appreciated the video coverage.  It is a work in progress as it is for other colleges and it certainly beats looking at just the final score or a box score.

Park Thomas (16 points) shoots - Matt Kneece defends

Lance Greene - fourteen second-half points

(Beverly) Lance Greene sparked a second half rally as Endicott defeated Gordon, 68-62, on a student-free Tuesday night at Endicott.

The students from both schools are on semester break.

The win was Endicott’s third straight in conference play.  Both teams are now 5-2 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference.

The Scots (6-7) have lost two straight CCC games and things won’t get much easier on Thursday night when they visit Wentworth.  The Leopards knocked Salve Regina from the unbeaten conference ranks with a win tonight.

This was a game in which the Scots started slowly (7-0), but recovered and went ahead, 33-32, early in the second half.  6 ½ minutes into the second half the Scots led, 40-35, and things were looking good.

What happened next looked awfully familiar to those of us who had watched the Salve Regina game slip away in the second half.  Why?  Because once again the Scots and their followers saw a lead squandered because of a lengthy scoring drought.

That Gordon 5-point lead was long gone 10 ½ minutes later as the Scots 40-35 advantage became a 58-47 deficit.  That’s a 23-7 run!

Luke Hamilton (10 points) fires three

Gordon was 2-for-20 during that segment.  They missed seven straight, made 2-of-5, and then missed eight straight.

Endicott (10-4) took full advantage of the scoring lapse led by Lance Greene.  The talented junior guard had eleven points, two assists, and two rebounds to put the Gulls in front to stay.

A big part of the Gordon demise was their inability to hit triples.  They notched just 1-of-12 during the game-slipping-away part.  The rest of the time the triples fell at a 5-for-12 rate.  You can live by them………and you can die by them.

Endicott used a zone on occasion and it gave Gordon trouble.  It certainly took away David Dempsey’s usual inside moves as the Gulls had several shot blockers around the basket.  David collected thirteen points but needed fifteen shots to get there.

Jordan Kelly set a career mark in rebounds – eleven.

The Scots had a season low (nine) in turnovers including a remarkable ONE in the second half.  Wow to that!

Andre Makris had ten rebounds…….all in the second half.

David Dempsey (13 points) & Erik Callo (9 points)

Lance Greene had fourteen of his team-leading sixteen points in the second half.

Park Thomas paced Gordon with sixteen points making 2-of-4 three’s.

Senior Erik Callo had nine points, nine rebounds, and a good night of defense when matched up against David Dempsey.

Alex Carnes (8 points) and Luke Hamilton (10 points) were a very cool 2-for-14 from long range.  However, some of those missed long ones were late-game desperation attempts.

Jon Himottu made several spectacular blocks just before the first half ended.

(All the pictures above and below enlarge if you click on them.)

ball stuck

Alex Carnes shoots in traffic

David Dempsey shoots - Gull coach Phil Rowe watches

Hans Miersma shoots in the lane

John Henault

Alex Carnes gets facial

Lachlan Magee layup

Tanner McEntee & Jordan Kelly (11 rebounds)

Ryan Birrell (18 points) gives SRU a 5-point lead late.

David Dempsey (18 points) sails in

(Wenham) Gordon continued right where they left off in defeating Roger Williams on Thursday night.

Unfortunately, they continued at that successful pace for only 27 ½ minutes against Salve Regina (8-5 overall / 6-0 in CCC) and lost, 73-63, on Saturday afternoon at the Bennett Center.

In the battle between two Commonwealth Coast Conference teams undefeated after five games, it was the poise of the 2010-11 defending champs that carried the day.

The Scots (6-7 overall / 5-1 in the CCC) were coming off three straight wins including a road win at Roger Williams in which they shot over 60% for the game.  That heat doesn’t usually last but for 27 ½ minutes against the Seahawks it did.

Alex Carnes (21 points) shoots - Brendan Canova defends

Gordon build up a 58-49 lead with 12 ½ minutes left in the game with shooting that could best be described as torrid – 24-for-37 (64.8%)!

But remember, this is Gordon.  They don’t usually shoot 60%.  This is Gordon, a team that can turn the ball over.

Sadly, the shooting and the ball-handling went entirely to pieces over the next nine minutes and the lead was entirely squandered.  The Scots missed ten straight shots and gave the ball away four times.

Salve was struggling as well but they had enough poise to come up with eleven straight points and take the lead for good, 60-58, with four minutes left. The last three points for the Seahawks came on an old-fashioned 3-point play by Pat Dinneen (12 points).

Gordon was down but not out…..yet.  Hans Miersma had two free throws. He made one (64-61 – 2:25).  David Dempsey had a one-and-one.  He missed the front end (64-61 – 1:58).  Three made free throws there would have tied the game.

Ryan Birrell then gave the Seahawks separation with a driving layup at 1:28 to put SRU ahead, 66-61.  The visitors made seven free throws thereafter as Gordon played the shoot-and foul end-game strategy.

A sizable Salve Regina crowd was on hand to enjoy the comeback.  The Gordon students return this week and should be on hand for the next home game (Saturday – Nichols).  I’d like to think that if the usually vocal Pit had been on hand the outcome might have been different against Salve Regina.

Alex Carnes (21 points) and David Dempsey (18 points) scored well, but what happened to them and the rest of the Scots over the final 12 ½ minutes when only FIVE points were scored??

Ryan Birrell (18 points) struggled to get there (6-for-15) and was blocked several times by Hans. However, he did have six assists and the clutch layup that gave SRU separation.

Ryan Birrell smirks and stays at 999.

(My stats may be off, but I’ll run with it anyhow.)  The subplot in this game was that Ryan needed nineteen points to reach 1000.  He came to the line with twenty-eight seconds left with the Seahawks ahead, 71-63, and one point away from 1000.  Ryan hardly came close to making either free throw and SRU coach Sean Foster removed him from the game.  Seems that his mother wasn’t at the game.  SRU’s next game is at home against Wentworth.  As Paul Harvey used to say, “And now you know the rest of the story.”

Alex Carnes set a season high in scoring for the 4th straight game.  He also covered Ryan Birrell for much of the game.  Alex was 8-for-11 shooting, including 2-for-2 on triples, and 3-for-3 from the foul line.  This kid can shoot!

Tuesday night the team travels to Endicott.  Games between the Gulls and the Scots seldom disappoint.  I don’t know if they’ll have students there chanting their familiar, “Where’s your Bible?,” but who knows?

(The pictures above and below enlarge if you click on them.)

Gordon bench

Park Thomas held off by Isiah Pringle

open three for Scott St. Lawrence

Ryan Birrell in Gordon traffic

Park Thomas defends Pat Dinneen

David Dempsey (19 points & 7 assists)

(Newburyport) Maybe this team is better than we think.

Gordon traveled to Bristol (RI) and shot down a good Roger Williams team, 77-62, on Thursday night.

That’s five straight in the Commonwealth Coast Conference for the Scots and only defending CCC champs Salve Regina has done as well so far.  And would you believe that the two undefeated conference teams will be meeting on Saturday (3PM) at Gordon?  It’s true, and I expect to be there, Lord willing.

It was a novelty for me to watch the Roger Williams/Gordon game unfold via Live Stats on my computer.  It was interesting to watch the stats build up.

Gordon (6-6) came out making shots and never cooled off.  How does 61.2% for the game sound?  They had those kind of stats after one half (40-30 lead) and I suspected that they would cool off considerably.  Instead, they just kept “taking and making” and never gave the Hawks a chance to rally into contention.

Alex Carnes (season-high eighteen points)

The Scot shooting was at it’s best for 7 ½ minutes of the second half leading up to the ten minute mark.  RWU (6-6) trailed by seven (45-38) at 17:39.  7 ½ minutes later they trailed by twenty-three (63-40).  That’s a dandy 18-2 segment!  The Scots were 4-for-4 shooting triples during this spurt.

That long-range shooting was remarkable all night (9-for-15).  Two nights ago, at UNE, I watched the same group of gentlemen make one of fourteen.  Who can explain these things?

David Dempsey (19), Alex Carnes (18), Park Thomas (13), and Hans Miersma (10) led the Gordon scorers.  Alex and Park hit seven treys between them.

Alex’s eighteen points are a season high for him, The 6-4 sophomore has contributed three straight double-digit point games.

David Dempsey had a career-high seven assists.  In points he has now reached 801 points.

The free throw shooting (8-11) and the turnovers (14) were two more positive takeaways from the win.

I worried early on about the way the fouls added up on our tallest players – Hans Miersma, Jordan Kelly, and Jon Himottu each had two fouls halfway through the first half.  However, with the non-stop deadly shooting going on it never became a factor.  Granted, the Hawks’ best player (Pat Flanagan 6-9 senior) scored nineteen points but he had little scoring help from teammates.

Park Thomas (13 points including three triples)

So far we have a team that lost three straight, won three straight, lost three straight, and now has won three straight.  There is a pattern there that I would hope would be altered on Saturday afternoon!

David Dempsey about to send Taylor Bajema in for a second half layup.

Alex Carnes - led all scorers with thirteen points

(Biddeford ME) The Scots ran their undefeated conference record to four with a 56-46 win over stubborn UNE on Tuesday night.

Gordon (5-6) struggled to separate from the winless Nor’easters (0-11) and had a shaky, 45-39, lead with four minutes left before collecting six straight points in little over a minute to get control, 51-39.

A Hans Miersma layup (pass from David Dempsey), two Alex Carnes free throws, and a layup by David Dempsey did the damage in the three productive possessions that turned this game for Gordon.

Aggressive defense was on display and both teams struggled for sustained offense.  6-9 Hans Miersma intimidated UNE shooters in close while the Nor’Easters relied on quickness to force turnovers around the basket.  Both teams kept clean looks from the perimeter to a minimum.

The Scots, however, got better looks late in the game as UNE began to tire from a long night of tight defense.

Alex Carnes led all scorers with a season-high thirteen points.

Those few of us in attendance will remember the lack of scoring in the first half.  UNE had only ONE point after 6 ½ minutes and only trailed, 6-1!  UNE didn’t reach double figures until there was 2:47 left in the first half and only trailed, 18-11.  The halftime score was, 22-18.

David Dempsey and Alex Alsadi wrestle for position

It was easy to be apprehensive about the outcome because UNE was quick to fire up 3’s and the Scot lead was slim.  If the Nor’Easters hit a couple in a row, and followed with full-court pressure, things could well head south for the visitors.

But credit the Gordon defense.  They did a excellent job defending the perimeter and limited UNE to twenty-five 3’s (they only made five) – they had thirty-five attempts last game with Roger Williams.

Even though the Scots had a frightening twenty-four turnovers the Nor’Easters only produced ten points from the miscues.  Most of the cough-ups were in close to the basket.

Gordon was ready to run on almost every occasion and capitalized on UNE turnovers for eighteen points.  Undersized UNE was quick to crash the glass on their missed shots and the Scots made them pay with some productive breakouts.

The Scots outrebounded UNE, 51-28.

Park Thomas had a career-high nine rebounds.

Hans Miersma lays in two

Gordon made only 1 of 14 three’s.

Luke Hamilton went from twenty-six points versus ENC to 0-for-6 versus UNE.  How does that happen??

This was David Dempsey’s first game with fewer than ten points.

Jarryd Rossignol (10 points) led UNE’s scorers.

Hans Miersma totaled ten rebounds and his presence in close discouraged a number of UNE drives toward the basket.

The Scots travel to Roger Williams (Bristol RI) on Thursday night.  I may take that one in from long range.  UNE faces Curry on the same day.

(The pictures above and below enlarge if you click on them.)

David Dempsey hits jumper in the lane

Jordan Kelly draws charge

Jordan Ferreira pulls by Jason Dempsey

Cooper Meyer - new look

Hans Miersma rejects

Alex Carnes defends JD Winn

Marcus Winn shoots over Luke Hamilton

Park Thomas caught in UNE traffic

Luke Hamilton (26 points) launches a second-half three over 6-8 Chima Ezeigbo

David Dempsey (18 points) shoots over Aaron Johnson.

(Wenham) Who saw this coming?

And while I’m asking questions, “Luke, what came over you in the second half?

A typical Commonwealth Coast Conference game was played in the first half between Eastern Nazarene and Gordon College on Saturday afternoon at the Bennett Center.  Low scoring (31-26) with more of the same expected in the second half.

However, the 100+ of us on hand, saw an NBA-like second half as the Scots put up 53 points while the Lions tallied 48.  That’s not shots, that’s points!

When it was over, Gordon (4-6 / 3-0) had an 84-74 win over Eastern Nazarene (2-6 / 1-2).

Luke Hamilton - 20 points in the second half

Sophomore Luke Hamilton had reached double figures eight times in thirty-five games for the Scots and never scored more than eighteen points before this ENC game.  Out of nowhere, today, he combines a typical first half for him (6 points) with a twenty-point second half.  He goes 7-for-7 from the field in the second half alone.

Luke’s surprising twenty-six points were needed in this game because the visitors were able to put up plenty of points of their own.  The Lions resorted to full-court pressure and gave up plenty of easy shots but also exposed the scariest part of Gordon’s game, in my opinion, taking care of the ball.  The Scots committed fifteen turnovers in the second half which led directly to twenty-one points.

The miscues didn’t start to pile up until later in the second half.  After the first eleven minutes of the second half the Scots led, 57-40, and looked ready to cruise in from there.

But credit the Lions, they turned up the defensive heat and started getting steals and quick points. They dominated the next seven minutes (28-17) and closed to 74-68, with two minutes left.

Then ENC’s DeAngelo Alston (14 points) missed the front end of a 1-and-1 but his teammate Chima Ezeigbo (15 rebounds/12 points) got the rebound.  The Lions, however, turned the ball over and missed a golden opportunity to get even closer.  The Scots were then able to right themselves over the final two minutes and build up a ten-point victory margin.

Junior David Dempsey had eighteen points and ten rebounds.  He didn’t seem to be shy about taking the ball to the basket with shot-blocker Chima Ezeigbo (6-8) in the area.  In the second half, David even blocked one of Chima’s shots.

Alex Carnes and Hans Miersma both had nine rebounds and ten points.

The Scots shot 65% in the second half.

The twenty-four turnovers was a season high (low?).  Attempting to dribble through traps, or around traps, is a turnover waiting to happen.

The ENC crowd I thought might show up didn’t.  Good thing they didn’t, because their normal enthusiasm might have driven the Lions to get closer than six points as the Scots unraveled late in the second half.

Hans Miersma (34) underway to chase down and block an Aaron Johnson layup attempt

Lion coach Jim Aller received a technical foul in the second half when he was certain that Hans Miersma had goaltended on Aaron Johnson’s breakaway layup attempt.  Credit Hans for hustling back to get into position for the block.

Next for Gordon is UNE (Biddeford ME) on Tuesday night (7:30PM).  If there ever was a “trap game” this one is it.  The Nor’Easters are winless after ten games.  Let it be noted that they have played a tough non-league schedule, as Gordon has.  They lost to Roger Williams today (62-55) while launching thirty-five 3’s.  Of more concern might be the fact that they forced eighteen RWU turnovers and collected ten steals.  Protecting the ball and defending the perimeter will be crucial.

Undefeated in the CCC after three games – nice start!

(The pictures above and below enlarge if you click on them.)

David Dempsey defended by Chima Ezeigbo

Chima Ezeigbo, Hans Miersma, and DeAngelo Alston

Cooper Meyer

Mike McCoy drives

Six month old Ellie Moran brings her parents to a game.

Max Barbosa shoots - Alex Carnes defends

Ben Ferris (5) soars in for a layup.

Park Thomas (33) looks to pass

(Wenham) The fifty of us on hand at the Bennett Center saw plenty of offense as Tufts (7-3) defeated Gordon, 85-78, on Tuesday night.

Those 78 points were a record for this year’s (3-6) Scots and they shot over 50% to get there.

David Dempsey paced Gordon with season highs in points (25) and blocks (3).

Alex Orchowski led Tufts with twenty-three points and ten rebounds.

Considering that Tufts had defeated two teams (Babson & Salem State) that had mauled the Scots, this was surprisingly competitive. There were thirteen lead changes in the first half with Gordon ahead, 35-34, at the half.  The Jumbos moved in front for good early in the second half but never were able to put the margin above twelve the rest of the way thanks to solid Scot shooting.

Kwame Firempong (12) shoots - David Dempsey (25) defends

This was a non-conference game.  The Scots are 2-0 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference and face long-time rival Eastern Nazarene on Saturday (3PM) at the Bennett Center before traveling to UNE (Biddeford ME) on Tuesday night.

Tufts gets its NESCAC schedule started this Friday night at Williams (8-1 – #7 in D3 Hoops) and Saturday afternoon at Middlebury (8-0 – #1 in D3 Hoops).  That’s what I call a challenge!

As I said, Gordon made this one interesting with excellent shooting.  They could have made things “very” interesting if they had shot better from the foul line (13-for-24) and managed the ball better.

The Scots turnover stat (15) appears not that out of the ordinary until you learn that the Jumbos scored THIRTY points off of those turnovers.  In football you get the “pick six,” on an interception that results in a score. Gordon had way too many “pick two’s” and “steal two’s” in this one.

David Dempsey (25 points) defended by Scott Anderson (52)

The visitors put this game out of reach early in the second half when they outscored the Scots, 10-2, in the first 4+ minutes.  Their last basket in this segment was a real killer as in that possession they corralled three offensive rebounds before James Long hit a jumper.

Other than that rebounding lapse the Scots more than held their own with a team that had averaged eleven more rebounds than each of their nine previous opponents.  They only had one more rebound than Gordon (37-36).

The Scots have now lost three straight (again).  However, I think that the toughness of the previous three opponents will make them a stronger team in the CCC.  I doubt that any team could look at the box scores of the team’s first nine games and detect any sort of pattern that could be easily prepared for.

I cringe to think that there could be more ENC fans in the stands than Gordon fans on Saturday.  The students aren’t back until the middle of the month.

(The pictures enlarge if you click on them.)

pregame repairs

CJ Moss (3) dribbles

James Long (55) shoots in traffic

Hans Miersma in close

tight Tufts defense

Alex Orchowski - 23 points & 10 rebounds

Luke Hamilton gets facial