Miscues Costly in One-Point Loss to New England College

David Dempsey had 20 points and spent time on the New England bench.

Andrew MacDonald's hit a late three for New England.

(Henniker NH)  5-8 Andrew MacDonald never drove to the basket in this game.  What the senior captain did, however, was launch 3’s.  He made his first and then missed six straight. 

New England College called time with sixteen seconds left trailing 54-53.  You wonder how the Pilgrims will go about getting that point back.  Gordon sits in a zone as Troy Prather inbounds to Andrew.  As Andrew dribbles several steps beyond the 3-point line you assume he’s looking to get the ball inside.  Suddenly he fires up a shot from several steps beyond the arc.  Swish!

(I overhear a student at the scorer’s table afterwards say, “That certainly wasn’t the way it was drawn up.”)

But there are still 8.6 seconds left for Gordon to go the full length of the court and do something about the 56-54 deficit.  Before you have time to see where Gordon will get their final offense from, turnover #23 occurs.  Austin Bentson tries to inbound to JT Himmelstein and Michael Ingram-Rubin steals the pass. 

Jason Minerve (#21) made all five shots he took. Troy Prather enabled NEC to get the ball back in the last minute and then made two clutch free throws.

Michael passes to Troy Prather who gets fouled.  Troy makes both pressure shots (58-54) with 4.5 seconds left. 

Gordon now needs a 4-point play.  New England lets JT unload a shot from beyond midcourt that goes in (58-57) with .7 seconds left.  The Scots deflect the inbounds pass as the game ends.

The Pilgrims had heroes aplenty in the end game.  Troy not only sank the two key free throws but earlier tied JT up for a jump ball that gave possession to New England with sixteen seconds left.

Both teams had segments where they looked to be in charge.  Gordon (6-11) dominated much of the first half by eliminating the Pilgrim’s top scorers (Shane Hennessey and Joe Faragher).  They only had two points between them.

The Scots jumped out 11-5 after five minutes and later 21-13 with five minutes to go in the first half.  All that good defense went up in smoke as taking-care-of-the-ball woes kicked in.  Over the next 3 ½ minutes Gordon committed six turnovers and let the Pilgrims get a 25-25 tie at halftime.

JT Himmelstein looks to inbound.

The inability to take care of the ball under pressure is a disaster waiting to happen.  Second half – first/third/sixth possessions turnovers!  Fortunately, New England (15-3) missed seven shots in a row so the damage was slight. 

Later, a couple of 3’s by Jason Minerva (13 points) helped NEC draw away 39-32 with eleven minutes left.  The Pilgrims were doing a terrific job of keeping the ball away from Greg Walker (10 points).  You didn’t like our chances the rest of the way.

However, this is why you show up to watch……….you never really know what will happen. 

David Dempsey (20 points) led the Scots on a great run of basketball over the next 6+ minutes.  He drew fouls, made a jumper, and added an old-fashioned 3-point play.  The result was a 19-3 explosion that had Gordon in front 51-42 with 4:49 left.

I wasn’t comfortable with that lead because of this team’s turnover tendencies.  In previous seasons, the ball got handled well enough to force a trailing opponent to foul.  This season, even a team like NEC, which averages 6.6 steals per game, finds a way to get twelve against the Scots.

The Scots still led, 53-45, with 3:48 left before the unraveling began.  Gordon had eight point-less possessions the rest of the way out of ten possessions.  The Pilgrims closed out 13-4 and won the game.

Frustrating to say the least.  The Scots are now 2-4 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference.  If Gordon doesn’t make the 8-team tournament they should look back to one-point losses to Roger Williams and NEC with chagrin.

I didn’t want the Scots to lose but after the fact I feel glad for NEC coach Charlie Mason.  He’s been coaching in Henniker for nine seasons and taking his lumps for eight of them, never coming close to a winning record.  Here he is now at 15-3 and 4-2 in the CCC. 

When the Scots shut down Coach Mason’s two best scorers. he (finally) has other players to pick up the slack.  Gordon, on the other hand, can’t find a third point producer.  So even when Greg and David combine for their average of thirty points the team can still struggle.

It was a nice change to actually have Pilgrim fans in the seats.  Believe me, that’s a change.  In previous years, the fans in attendance would sooner or later be hollering for a player at the end of the bench to be put in.

Michael Ingram-Rubin grabs Garrett Harden's shirt as Luke Hamilton tries to inbound the ball.

Another thing about the gym at NEC is that the fans are right on top of the action.  You quickly hear and see that there is plenty of contact away from the ball.

Luke Hamilton’s parents and his sister were in the house. 

I looked out this morning to 10” of snow in Newburyport.  Thought there was no way I’d get to Henniker.  But a couple hours later the driveway was cleared.  I’m guessing that there was little snowfall in Henniker. 

Openings were few for Greg Walker (#13) in this one.

Part of my motivation in seeing the game was wanting to see Greg get to 1000 points.  He didn’t get there.  He needs six more.  It would be nice to see him reach 1000 in a Gordon victory.

Saturday afternoon Endicott will be at the Bennett Center.  Gordon’s early season win at Endicott should rev up the Gulls.  They were missing at least one starter last time.  It may be time for the student section to carry the Scots to a win.

Gordon Routs Undermanned Curry

Roy Ray (#21) drives by Mike McCarthy in late-game action at Curry.

Luke Perkins (left) and Jordan Kelly (right) were part of a Gordon defense that held Curry to twelve second half points.

(Milton)  Playing with one hand tied behind your back is difficult.  Playing with both hands back there will surely lead to bad results.

That’s the way it was for Curry Saturday afternoon as they faced Gordon in Commonwealth Coast Conference action at home.  Minus their two best players (Jarrell Jackson and Sedale Jones) the Colonels lacked the firepower to compete for a full game and were mauled, 80-42.

To get a sense of these two missing players, understand that Jarrell was a first-team CCC All-Star last year and this year carries a 16.5 ppg average.  Sedale leads the CCC in scoring with 20.3 points per game.  Maybe a better comparison would be imagining Gordon playing without Greg Walker and David Dempsey.

Despite being shorthanded, Curry (4-13) played a competitive first half riding the shooting of Michael Connery (12 points) and a last-second basket by Axel Allen.  They only trailed 37-30 at halftime.

However, Gordon (6-10) was rolling on offense (54% in the first half).  That good shooting got even better in the second half (66%) while Curry went into a drought of droughts.

2 ½ minutes into the second half the score was 38-32.  The worrier in me was showing signs of life.  Over the next eleven minutes, however, the Scots went on a 31-2 run, that’s right, 31-2, and soared ahead 69-34 with 6 ½ minutes to go.  Wow!

We saw long range accuracy (Luke Hamilton & Park Thomas).  We saw inside accuracy (Greg Walker, Caleb Perkins, Jon Himottu).  We even saw a Rajon Rondo floater (Park Thomas).  It was all good and there was plenty of it. Nice not to be on the other side of such great offense.

Gordon’s iffy outside game kicked in versus Curry with 8-of-18 from long range.  Luke had 15 points from the perimeter.  This was the freshman’s 4th time reaching double figures.

Greg Walker (17 points) tries for a layup against soaring Chris Brown (#34).

Greg Walker (17 points) had the first nine points for the Scots in that put-away run in the second half.  By my figures, he’s within sixteen points of reaching a scoring milestone.

The Scots’ defense was impressive.  Every game they’ve gotten better at playing a zone defense.  The shifting is quick and most of the time the best shot for the opponent is a long-range, low percentage one.  There has also been enough mixing in of man-to-man defense to keep the opposition guessing.

Biggest surprise, other than Jarrell and Sedale not playing, was that Curry never pressed.  Maybe the fact that Curry played at Colby-Sawyer on Wednesday and at Amherst on Thursday had something to do with it.

Shaun Roach had plenty of family fans in attendance. He had three steals in this one.

Jordan Kelly was back in action.  He had seven rebounds.

Caleb Perkins tallied eight points and had me wondering why he shot two free throws left-handed. 

Matt Gibson handles the ball against Curry.

I did not realize that Curry had a new gymnasium.  So, naturally, I visited the old one.  The new one is gorgeous – lighting, seating, all good. 

Next opponent for Gordon (2-3 in the CCC) will be New England College.  The game is in Henniker (NH) on Thursday night at 7:30PM.  The Pilgrims defeated Roger Williams today.

Seniors Graduate on May 15th

Aaron, Mike, Tim, Ben, Brady, Justin, and Ben do some post-graduation posing.

(Wenham)  I was there and I can confirm it – they graduated! 

Aaron Trigg waits to march to graduation.

I was at Gordon on sunny/breezy Saturday morning (May 15th) and watched Jeff Derr, Aaron Trigg, Brady Bajema, Tim MacDonnell, and Ben Gaskill end their four years among us.

Last time I saw the five of them together was in March in Middlebury (VT) when the home team took out our Scots in the NCAA D3 tourney.  Who knew that Middlebury’s Andrew Locke would block thirteen shots and send Gordon to a first-round exit?

It was good to see all the players’ families together for one last time.  You always imagine that there are games ahead that they will attend but it seldom, if ever, works out. 

There was talk of everyone getting back together when the CCC tournament banner is put on display in the Bennett Center during the 2010-11 season.  That would be special.

I was very impressed with commencement speaker Jim Cymbala.  It wasn’t just the brevity of his remarks but the topic – the importance of prayer.  There was something there for all of us!

Coach Tod Murphy waves to seniors.

One comment that previous Gordon coach Mike Schauer used to make to me when I mentioned a talented player on an opposing team: “The important thing,” he would say, “was to make sure he graduates.”  And here is Tod Murphy at graduation, probably hoping that Aaron, Brady, Tim, Jeff, and Ben weren’t graduating!

Anyone on board knows that there are big changes ahead.  For starters, look at the team picture on Championship Saturday and delete the front row.  However, one of the trademarks of your Scots over the past eight seasons has been to graduate players yet still be able to qualify for the CCC tournament (top eight) every season.  Let’s be optimistic here! 

The other significant change, other than the roster, is the future of the CCC.  My understanding is that in two seasons Gordon and eight other schools (UNE, Endicott, Salve Regina, Roger Williams, Nichols, Curry, Western New England, and Wentworth) will form a new conference.  That will leave Regis, New England, Colby-Sawyer, Anna Maria, and ENC out in the cold for reasons I choose not to guess at.  It will be interesting to see how this all works out.

Anyhow, God bless Aaron, Brady, Tim, Jeff, and Ben.  And God bless your families as well.

Gordon Wins 14th and Extends Winning Streak to Ten

Aaron Trigg - Led Gordon scorers with 16 points

(Wenham) Make that ten straight for Gordon (14-3/6-0) as they defeated New England College, 79-57, in Commonwealth Coast Conference play on Thursday night at the Bennett Center.

The visiting Pilgrims actually outscored the Scots, 28-27, over the last 13 ½ minutes of the game but unfortunately for them, were trailing 52-29, when those last 13 ½ minutes started.

New England (5-13/0-6) has now lost ten straight.

Now we get to the circled game on the schedule – the rematch with Endicott at 3PM on Saturday.  If you recall, or checked this blog, the Scots and the Gulls were tied last time at the Bennett Center with 1:10 left.  Crunch time belonged to Endicott.  Also of note is that Endicott defeated Roger Williams tonight.  And of further note, the last two times over there, Gordon has won at the very end on shots from the same corner (first corner when you enter the gym).  Plan on an exciting afternoon.

Meanwhile, back at the game I’m supposed to be writing about, Brady Bajema and Greg Walker carried the Scots to a 12-4 advantage in the first 4 ½ minutes.  How many games have we seen Greg be a big contributor in the early going?  Teams seem to want to give single coverage a chance.

Later in the first half, David Dempsey and Jeff Derr combined for eleven points in an 11-2 spurt and the Scot lead was 26-12 with 8:25 left.  JT Himmelstein had two assists during this run.

The lead was fourteen (38-24) at the half and the same (43-29) after three minutes of the second half.  You doubted that NEC had the firepower (top scorer Joe Faragher wasn’t in uniform) to get closer but their deliberate style was keeping them closer than you would expect from a team on a nine game losing streak.  Then an extended cold spell (3 ½ minutes) did in New England, as Ben Gaskill, Aaron Trigg, and Brady put up points in a nine-point run.  Now the lead was 52-29 with 13 ½ minutes remaining and the bench clearing started. 

Coach Tod Murphy went heavily with reserves the rest of the way and hopefully saved the legs of his starters for the visit to Beverly on Saturday.

Aaron (16), Jeff (14), David (13) and Brady (12) paced the Gordon scorers.  Those interested in the Brady 1000-point number – he currently is at 985.

David Dempsey - Scored 13 points including a crowd-pleasing dunk

Most exciting play of the game?  A second half NEC turnover sent freshman David Dempsey off on a breakaway.  Expecting a simple layin, those on hand were greatly surprised to see him dunk the ball.  It is easy to forget that he’s 6’5”. 

The second most exciting moment was the last-second shot that NEC’s Paige Pearson made to give the Pilgrim women a 54-53 win.  I was watching that game at home on my computer and the GC women had a comfortable first half lead when I left. 

Seeing the referee, and then the athletic director, have to get involved with someone in the Gordon cheering section is embarrassing.  I thought that cheering section was supposed to be a group effort.  Soloists taunting opposing players and officials should not be allowed to give the cheering section a bad name. 

Speaking of “cheering,” only at Endicott would you get an entire section of students chanting, “Where’s your Bible?” as they did last year.  Maybe some on the Gordon side could have pocket editions and produce them in response.

Gordon is now alone at the top of the CCC.  Six teams are in second with two losses.  The Scots get to play three of them (Regis, Colby-Sawyer, UNE) among the eight games left in the regular season. 

One of the finest from Gordon’s immediate past (Jerry Logan) was in the house visiting his brother Jordan and hanging around for the Endicott game.  You talk about a tireless defender!

Box Score

Scots Rout Nonleague Newbury for 9th Straight

Garrett Harden - 6'2" sophomore has breakout game with eleven points

(Wenham) The Newbury Nighthawks (5-11) opted to play a zone defense and Gordon responded with season highs in shots (63) and assists (26) and routed the visitors, 79-51, in nonleague action at the Bennett Center.

That is nine straight for the Scots to go with an impressive 13-3 record. 

This game got out of hand early, with Gordon breaking a 3-3 tie after the first minute and following with a 16-2 spurt over the next nine minutes.  Greg Walker tallied eight of his game-high 16 points during a two-minute stretch in this run.  Greg is 5th in the Commonwealth Coast Conference in field goal percentage (55.8%) and thrives when teams choose to concentrate on Gordon’s long-range shooters.

The surprise on the stat sheet was Garrett Harden getting eleven points including eight in the first half.  These were not garbage time points.  The sophomore guard hit three of four 3’s in sixteen minutes setting career marks in points and playing time. 

The Gordon passing was impressive from beginning to end.  They scored 32 baskets and had 26 assists.  That is about as unselfish as a team can get and it was great to watch.

Newbury, on the other hand, had 22 baskets with only five assists.  They had some terrific athletes but setting each other up on offense is a work in progress.

About five minutes into the second half, Gordon’s lead was 47-28 before Greg and Aaron Trigg combined for seven straight.  Moments later, with the score 56-34, the Scots put up 14 unanswered points in a three minute segment to get to 70-34 with 8 ½ minutes remaining.  During this stretch, JT Himmelstein started things with a sweet drive down the lane and ended it with a pass to Timmy MacDonnell in front of the Gordon bench that the senior turned into three points. 

A 16-2 run by the Nighthawks against the Scot reserves closed the gap a bit and the final score was 79-51.

Brady took on Newbury’s top scorer, freshman Timothy Young.  He ended up with 15 points but few of them came early on when Brady was in coverage. 

One hold-your-breath moment was when Brady decided to take a charge from fast-moving, leaping Rondell Best.  He got the charge all right but also got himself embedded into the Bennett Center floor doing it.  He got up probably wondering how (why?) his teammate Timmy MacDonnell goes out of his way to take charges. With his six points tonight, the 1000-point club watch for Brady is at 973.

Aaron Trigg - 14 points in only 21 minutes

The best number of the night may have been Aaron’s 21 minutes of play.  He went into this game in seventh position in minutes (33+ per game) in the CCC.  Teams want to do well in the regular season but maybe just as important is having something left physically for the CCC postseason tournament that goes every other day. 

Rondell Best (13) and Timothy Young (15) paced Newbury in scoring.  These freshmen were together on Brockton’s 23-1 Division One team. 

You start to get a sense of the games ahead when you see Charlie Mason (New England College) in the stands as well as one of the assistants from Endicott. 

During this season, Newbury has played seven of the CCC teams.  They defeated Anna Maria, New England College, Regis, and ENC.  They lost to Curry, Wentworth, and now Gordon.

Last year Jeff Derr had a career high 23 points when Gordon played Newbury at Hellenic College. 

While Gordon has won nine straight, their next opponent (New England College) has lost nine straight.  Would the Scots be silly enough to look past the Pilgrims toward Saturday afternoon’s return matchup with Endicott?  I sure hope not.

 Box Score

Game #17 – Aaron and Brady Light Up New England

Aaron Trigg 5-for-8 long range

Brady Bajema 4-for-6 long range

(Henniker NH) You put the team with the best field goal percentage (Gordon) in a game with a team with the worst scoring defense (New England College) and the result should be predictable and was.

Gordon routed defenseless New England College, 87-58, on Thursday night on the road in Commonwealth Coast Conference play.

The Scots (13-4 overall/ 4-2 in the CCC) return to action on Saturday afternoon against our neighbors from Beverly (Endicott) at the Bennett Center and I guarantee you that Gordon will not light them up for 87 points. 

The two rivals went at it in early December and Gordon won (barely) over there, 67-66.  Remember the shot Aaron hit from the corner near the end?  Remember the shot that Jon Marstaller hit from the same corner the year before?  These games are usually memorable.

In the game I’m supposed to be writing about, New England College (2-15 overall/ 0-6 in the CCC) simply could not defend the Scots. 

A quick look at the CCC website will tell the viewer that Aaron Trigg went into this game #1 in 3-point field goal percentage in the conference and Brady Bajema #5.  Those gentlemen require special defending beyond the arc but the Pilgrims couldn’t get the job done and the result was a deficit of 50-25 at halftime. 

In that decisive first half, Aaron was 5-for-7 and Brady was 4-for-6 from long distance.  Jeff Derr hit the other first half three when he was left all by his lonesome beyond the arc.  NEC coach Charlie Mason called an immediate timeout and there was some shouting heard but this was not a night where the Pilgrims had any defensive answers.

New England began the second half with several starters on the bench and it took them 5 ½ minutes to score.  Meanwhile the Scots ran off nine straight with birthday boy David Flight getting the last two on a nice pass off a turnover from Austin Bentson.

The 59-25 cushion gave Coach Mike Schauer 14 ½ minutes to take a look at the rest of his bench and everyone got some playing time.  It gave me a chance to get confused because I haven’t seen the Herod twins play enough to know one from the other.  I should have asked the Herod twin’s parents, who were sitting nearby, for help.

JT Himelstein 9 points
3 steals 2 assists

JT Himelstein filled the score sheet a bit in his nine minutes with three steals, two assists, and nine points.  Being from Arizona, could he possibly think that the Cardinals have a chance against the Steelers on Sunday? 

It was wonderful to have dry roads up and back after some serious snow on Wednesday morning. 

Not surprising that an assistant coach from nearby Colby-Sawyer was in the house.  The preseason favorites visit the Bennett Center on February 10th.

Nice to see the team being helpful after the game. 

Fans for #3 and #33

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Box Score

More Fine Shooting Leads to Win 13 – Game #17

(Wenham) You never saw such shooting.  I know, I said that after the last game when Gordon blew out Curry but this was different because both teams, Gordon and New England College, shot over 50% for the game.

The bottom line was that the home team, your Fighting Scots, emerged victorious, 87-78, over the visiting Pilgrims on Thursday evening at the Bennett Center.

Gordon is now, 13-4, with a 5-2 Commonwealth Coast Conference record.  Ahead they have three extremely difficult games (Endicott-away, Bates-away, and Husson-home).  The Endicott game is Saturday afternoon at Beverly and those paying attention know that the Scots have NEVER won over there.  If the Gordon rooting section shows up it could be a full house with plenty of excitement.

New England never led in this game but for most of it they matched the Scots shot for shot.  “They hung in there,” said Gordon coach Mike Schauer afterwards.  “We just couldn’t stop them.  Give them credit.”

The way the Pilgrims stayed competitive throughout was very surprising considering that they’re winless in the CCC and during their previous five visits to the Bennett Center, they’ve lost by at least 18 points.  The effort his team displayed in this one pleased Pilgrim coach Charlie Mason.  “I hope it will give us some momentum the rest of the way.”

The pattern in the previous games between the two teams has been for Gordon to jump out to a big lead early and coast in.  When Gordon ran nine straight points and surged to an 11-2 advantage 4 ½ minutes in I thought the same type of game was about to unfold.  It didn’t happen.  Both teams scored 76 points apiece the rest of the way.

Gordon’s seniors had big contributions and big minutes.  “I thought that our seniors (Justin Kaufman (senior-5′11″-Redding CT), Mike Schnackenberg (senior-6′6″-South Portland ME), and Jon Marstaller (senior-6′5″-Naples ME)) wouldn’t let us lose,” said Coach Schauer.  “We rode them a little bit tonight.”

Justin has found his shooting touch over the last four games totaling a remarkable 13-for-26 long range during that stretch.  “(Justin) Kaufman hit some big shots for them,” said Coach Mason.  “Last year another senior, Jerry Logan, hurt us.  The year before that it was the senior guard from Vermont (Scott Allenby). Is every time we come here Senior Day?”

Justin’s three with 2:44 left gave Gordon a ten-point lead (81-71) and enough of a cushion to keep even the torrid shooting Pilgrims from catching up.  Justin finished with 22 points of which 19 came in the second half. 

Mike Schnackenberg’s 19 points were his highest of the season.  He shoots over 50% for the season and didn’t hurt that stat at all with a 9-for-11 effort in this game.  The Scots had 23 assists and Mike was on the scoring end of quite a few of them. 

Coach Schauer wasn’t comfortable with all the scoring his team allowed but thought that his team needed a game like this one.  “This has been an odd year because we’ve either blown teams out or gotten blown out in most of them.  There has been none that has been tight down the stretch where we had to grind one out.  This was that game and we persevered.”

It proved to me that even in a game where holding the opponent to their CCC-leading 60.7 points per game goes out the window with 7 ½ minutes left Gordon has the scorers to take an offense that is averaging 69.7 points per game and pour in 87 points.  Whether the Scots can take that great shooting on the road against Endicott and Bates will go a long way toward our getting a read on how Gordon will do come tournament time because a road win or two may be required then.

After falling behind 11-2 early the Pilgrims got back to within one point several times but left trailing, 36-32, at the half.

Coach Schauer was delighted to be ahead at the half.  “We had both Justin and Aaron Trigg (sophomore-6′1″-Overland Park KS) in foul trouble for the first time together all season.  That forced us to play lineups that we haven’t played all season against a team that I didn’t think we could play those lineups against.  But we got through it.”

The second half was an amazing display of offense by both teams.  Gordon shot 65.4% and put up 51 points.  In fact, by my figuring, the Scots didn’t miss a shot during the last eight minutes.  And the way New England was shooting (57.6%) the Scots needed every point they could put up.

Gordon did get up by ten points (50-40) after an Aaron Trigg layup but consecutive 3’s from Rafael Salado put the Pilgrims within four points in a hurry.  Later a Brady Bajema (sophomore-6′2″-Whitinsville MA) three pushed Gordon’s advantage to nine (66-57 – 8:52) but the visitors answered with five of their own to close the gap to, 66-62, with 7 ½ minutes left.

The teams then swapped turnovers before Gordon went on a run of seven straight possessions with no missed shots or turnovers.  During this stretch of solid offense the Scots collected 15 points to the Pilgrims 9.  This put Gordon on top, 81-71, with 2:44 left and the Pilgrims didn’t have enough time to catch up.

Ryan Jaziri came in with a 23.8 points per game average and got 24 points in this one.  You never saw a quicker release on a 3-point shot.  He leads the CCC in scoring.

Kingsley Onyechi had a 14-point second half on his way to 22 points. 

The Pilgrims are 5-13 overall and 0-6 in the CCC.  Their next opponent is Salve Regina. 

Coach Schauer was never comfortable with the tempo of this game.  “There were no fouls.  There were no free throws.  The game just went back and forth.  We can’t play like that.  We’re not athletic enough.”

The lack of fouls on New England late in the game hurt them.  Gordon was trying to run time off the clock and every time the Pilgrims would foul it didn’t result in free throws.  Instead, the Scots kept the ball, the shot clock went back to 35 seconds, and they could play keep-away as more time went off the clock.

Anyhow, Gordon has three games in the next six days.  Each presents its own special challenge; the team has never won at Endicott, the team has never (?) beaten Bates, and Husson beat Gordon by 17 in Bangor in a game that was over at halftime. 

We know that Gordon can defend and we know that at home they can score points.  Can they do these things on the road versus Endicott and Bates?  I guess that’s why they play the games……..so we’ll be able to find out.

(Game #25 – New England) Gordon Captains Deliver 14th Win

By Peter McClelland

(Henniker) Gordon finished the regular season with their 14th win (against 11 losses) while New England College ended theirs (4-21) with high hopes for the future.

“This is going to be a real tough place to play in a little bit,” said Gordon coach Mike Schauer after the 77-71 Commonwealth Coast Conference victory on Saturday afternoon.  “He (NEC coach Charlie Mason) has some real talented players returning next season.”

Gordon’s seniors (Hayes Murray/Ryan Smith) put on a fine afternoon of shooting display and combined for 43 of the Scots 77 points.

This game was played mostly from long range and the result was points being scored in a hurry.  And of course during the cooling off period, which taking long-range shots can lead to, the other team can make a significant move.  That happened to both teams in this one.

The Pilgrims rode the emotions of senior Pete Nelson’s last game (nice pre-game ceremony) to a fine start.  Their patience turned up all sorts of makeable opportunities from inside the arc and when Edin Zajmovic tipped in a miss the home team was ahead 31-23 with seven minutes left in the half.  Three minutes later the Pilgrims were still in command 35-28.

Then came a significant cooling off period for NEC and for the next nine minutes all they had to show for their efforts was a buzzer-beating tip-in from Eric Sliney.  “That’s the trademark of a young team, “said NEC coach Charlie Mason.  “We go through these ups and downs.” 

And while NEC was “down” the Scots racked up 27 points including six from beyond the arc – Hayes Murray had three of them.  The point explosion sent Gordon ahead 55-37 with 15 minutes left.  This started to look like a blowout in the making. 

Coach Schauer didn’t see it going that way.  “When I saw us build that lead and saw that there were still 15 minutes left I was afraid we’d run out of gas,”   The Scots average about 70 points a game so the scoring pace was much hotter than they were used to.

Earlier in the month at Gordon the Pilgrims were down 55-33 early in the second half and couldn’t find a way to fight back.  “In this one they played like you do in your last game in front of your home crowd,” said coach Schauer.   They gambled, they scrambled, and Gordon entered it’s cooling off period. 

Over the next 8+ minutes Gordon had only a lay-up from Mike Herr and a rebound conversion by Hayes Murray.  Meanwhile the host team tossed in 20 points sparked by three straight treys from junior Edin Zajmovic.  Before you knew it you were watching a ballgame again.

The NEC surge reduced the Scot lead to 59-57 with 6 ½ minutes to play.  Anyone’s game but that was when Gordon’s captains (Hayes Murray/Ryan Smith/Scott Allenby) gave the Scots the points they needed for the win.

Hayes is known for this outside shooting but if a defender overplays he can get in closer and do damage.  First he drove and made two foul shots and then stepped inside for a short jumper.  Ryan added a trey from the corner and made a foul shot after fighting for a rebound.  The real killer, however, was Scott Allenby’s trey.  The junior had seen limited action in this one because of a foot injury but his 3-pointer pushed the Gordon margin to 70-63 with a little under two minutes left.  Jerry Logan followed with four freebies in a row and this one was in the win column.

 “We needed to compete and play well to beat this team because they can make shots,” concluded coach Schauer.

Hayes Murray ended up leading all scorers with 24 points and along the way gave the Gordon followers a scare when he went down late in the first half.  “I was concerned that it was his groin (again) but he told me it was his knee and that he’d be okay,” said coach Schauer.  Those 12 points in the second half had me convinced that he was okay.

In talking about Hayes he added, “I fully expect him to be named to the CCC first team in the voting tomorrow.”

Ryan Smith regained his shooting touch (4 for 7 treys) and ended with 19.  Jerry Logan (13 points/6 assists) and Alex Yeats (10 points/8 rebounds) continued to contribute. 

Edin Zajmovic (3rd in CCC in 3 point fg%) paced the Pilgrims with 18 including 4 of 6 treys.  Senior Pete Nelson closed out his last game with 15 points.

Gordon’s next action will be in the CCC playoffs on the road against Roger Williams or Curry.  “I think that Gordon plays as well together as a group as any team in the conference,” said NEC coach Mason when asked about the Scots chances in the postseason. “You throw in their ability to shoot and defend.  I wouldn’t want to be playing them!”
 

(Game #12 – New England) Logan and Schnackenberg Lead Scots Past New England

By Peter McClelland

(Wenham) – Gordon grabbed a double-digit lead (25-14) twelve minutes into their game with New England College and never was seriously challenged thereafter as they routed the visiting Pilgrims, 86-60, at the Bennett Center on Thursday night.

“I’ve come down here five times and we’ve never had a close game,” lamented New England Coach Charlie Mason afterward.  He knows his stats because the closest game in the last five years was an 18-point loss.

Gordon Coach Mike Schauer was naturally pleased with the outcome and after the game asked the question (“Can we play like this on the road?”) and supplied the answer (“I don’t know, but I’m excited to find out.”).

Gordon’s next game is on the road on Saturday afternoon at Salve Regina in Newport, Rhode Island.  Just close enough to Roger Williams to keep the memory of last Saturday’s wipe-out versus the Hawks in the memory bank. 

What Coach Schauer liked most about the decisive win over New England was that “this was back-to-back games where we played hard.”  Asked to explain what “playing hard” meant he replied, “By playing hard I’m referring to defensive effort.  It means a willingness to defend every single possession.”

That defensive effort was especially noticeable against two of the CCC’s top scorers – Ryan Jaziri & Pat Quinn.  Both of the Pilgrim’s sharpshooters were held under their usual averages by relentless Jerry Logan and Justin Kaufman.  “Those two can make tough shots but you just have to keep after them and that is what Jerry and Justin did,” said Coach Schauer.

For the second straight game senior Jerry Logan (Marietta, GA) had opposing coaches asking questions during the game such as: “Why is he so open?”, and “Who’s covering him?”  Colby-Sawyer watched him make 3-for-4 from beyond the arc while New England observed a 4-for-7 long-range show.  Against New England Jerry was particularly warm early gathering 13 of the Scot’s 19 points in the first 8+ minutes.  He ended up with 18 points for the game.

Another significant contributor for the second straight game was junior Mike Schnackenberg (South Portland, ME).  Mike took a major spill in the second half of the Colby-Sawyer win and there was some concern that he might have gotten a serious wrist injury.  That wasn’t the case but his wrist was wrapped for the New England game and you had to wonder how effective he would be.  How about 14 points in the first half and a career-high 19 points for the game?

“Schnack has been playing like this since we got back,” explained his coach.  “It is nice to see him transferring his good play in practice into game situations.”

Jerry jump-started the team to a quick 10-2 advantage after five minutes.  The lead reached double figures (25-14) for good when Schnack converted a rebound.  That lead would grow to 18 (43-25) after a Mike Herr (Lampeter, PA) three.   The halftime score was 45-29.

The second half featured two significant runs surrounding a coaching mistake.  The biggest run I’ve seen in a while (19 straight) happened early.  The teams had just traded a couple of baskets to make the score 49-33 with 18:45 left.  In the following seven minutes the Pilgrims came up empty on 15 straight possessions while the Scots got points from all five starters.   Freshman Tyler Evans two free throws finally ended the scoring drought but the lead had moved to 66-35.

With such a lead Coach Schauer decided to clear his bench.  “It was a bad coaching decision on my part,” he admitted.  With nearly 11 minutes left the Pilgrims found some life and back in went the Gordon starters.  “I didn’t want this game to end with the team feeling bad about the way we played.  If I had waited before subbing I wouldn’t have had to put the starters back in.”

With mostly starters back in the Scots ran 11 straight in less than two minutes with points from Justin Kaufman, Schnack, and freshman Brady Bajema to regain momentum and then the benches were cleared.  The final score was 86-60.

Gordon is now 9-3 overall and 4-1 in the CCC.  Road games with Salve Regina and Wentworth are ahead. 

New England is 5-6 and 0-3 in the CCC.  They get ENC next.  ENC is winless.

Coach Schauer continues to be impressed with Justin Kaufman’s play of late. “For the second game in a row Justin took fewer shots and found instead his teammates a few more times.  He still isn’t turning the ball over.”

The most remarkable stat, in my opinion, was the one where Gordon had as many rebounds as New England.  The Pilgrims have two of the top ten rebounders in the CCC and Gordon is last in rebounds. 

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Assistant Coach Jeremy Martin replaced the nets at the Bennett Center today.  We both agreed that chain nets should be considered in the future……………….Coach Mason called a timeout even after his were all gone.  Gordon ended up with two technical foul shots as a result.  I didn’t realize that a team could actually get the full timeout in that case…………………..Freshman Ben Gaskill (Columbus, OH) showed some range………………..Freshmen Brady Bajema (Whitinsville, MA) and Tim McDonnell (Jericho, VT) are no strangers to floor burns……………The Blue Sea was completely dry.  The fans that make up the Blue Sea will return in force, I hope, for the next home game on January 2oth against rival ENC………………..The winning streak has reached two.  How high can it get?

(Game #6 – New England) Mike Herr Reaches 1000 at New England

By Peter McClelland

(Henniker NH) – Senior Mike Herr collected his 1000th point in the second half as Gordon shot their way past the New England College Pilgrims, 89-76, at Henniker on Tuesday night.

Mike’s 1000th point came appropriately on his patented 3-point shot from the wing.  Gordon was in a timeout huddle when Mike’s feat was mentioned by the New England announcer.

Gordon Coach Mike Schauer didn’t even hear the announcement although there was a nice crowd response. Mike Herr gave little indication that he even was aware of the milestone.

“I suspect that Mike is more interested in winning games than being honored for his 1000th point,” said Coach Schauer afterwards.

This game was very enjoyable to watch if you like fast action with great outside shooting and nifty inside passes.  There was never a chance of the 35 second clock ever being a factor.

This game was won by the Scots because they shot well (over 50%) in both halves.  The Pilgrims stayed with the visitors in the first half but struggled offensively in the second half.

So in the first half when sophomore Tim DeLuca drilled a couple of 3’s in a 14-4 run that put the Scots ahead 27-15 the Pilgrims had answers.  This team has been averaging 90 points a game.  And before you knew it New England went on a roll as Ryan Jaziri and Pat Quinn heated up and with 2 ½ to go NEC was ahead, 37-35.  This was the only time that NEC would lead in the game.  Juniors Jon Marstaller and Justin Kaufman rallied the Scots in the closing minutes and Gordon had itself a, 43-39, halftime advantage.

“I was pleased at halftime,” explained Coach Schauer.  “We were up by four.  I envisioned us getting into the mid to high 80s and trying to keep them in the 70s.”

For nearly 11 minutes of the second half it was all Mike Herr for Gordon.  He had 13 of the team’s 17 points with 3’s and lay-ups.  But the Pilgrims were at home and they weren’t going away.  “They’re just hard to guard,” said Coach Schauer.  “They have great offensive players all over the floor.”

Despite Mike Herr’s shooting this game was tied at 62 on Antoine Sylvia’s two free throws with over 9 minutes left.  Anyone’s ballgame, as they say.  But on this occasion this was where Gordon made a decisive move.  Over the next three minutes they ran 11 unanswered points featuring 3’s from Mike Herr and Jerry Logan.

It was a frustrating time for New England and a couple of the points in the run came from a technical foul called on NEC Coach Charlie Mason.  “That technical came at a pivotal time,” recalled Coach Schauer.  “Frankly I’m not sure he was wrong in his frustration.  I’m not suggesting that the officiating was poor just inconsistent.  I think Charlie would probably say the same thing.”

Put Gordon up by 11 with six minutes left and you start to see a patient offense that ends with high percentage shots.  That forced NEC into full-court pressure and taking fouls.  The Scots were seven of eight from the line in the last two minutes to seal this one.

“I think that Gordon’s experience paid off,” explained Coach Mason.  “We’re playing some young guys and they didn’t show enough patience in the second half.”

Those second half stats weren’t pretty for the Pilgrims. You never know if it’s good defense or fatigue.  It could have been the heat in the gym.  I’ve been in cooler greenhouses!

Senior Pat Quinn was limited to one point after leading all scorers in the first half with 12.  Freshman Tyler Evans was defended into a 2-for-13 game but did hand out 5 assists.

“(Ryan) Jaziri and (Pat) Quinn are about as good as our league has,” said Coach Schauer.  “I thought that Justin (Kaufman) and Jerry (Logan) did a pretty good job on them most of the time.  They’re just really good.”

Gordon had five players in double figures (Herr-21, Kaufman-16, DeLuca-14, Logan-14, and Marstaller-10) and continues to be a very difficult team to defend.  Teams so far have not found a way to keep the Scots from scoring a lot of points.  The shooting percentages continue high because so far taking the ball to the basket seems to be the number one option for the team.

“Tim DeLuca was just sensational tonight,” said Coach Schauer.  “When you have a player of his ability coming off the bench who can score in the mid to high teens as easily as he can……what a weapon that is.”  Tim had the highest output of his career with 14 points.

The wins put the undefeated Scots at 6-0 with rugged Salem State ahead on Saturday afternoon (3PM) at the Bennett Center.  Last year Gordon won five straight before losing at Endicott and starting a 3-game losing streak.  So far that losing streak hasn’t started yet but Salem State will certainly be a physical test if nothing else.

Coach Schauer issued a warning to future NEC opponents traveling to Henniker – “I just don’t think that a lot of teams are going to come in here and win because at home they’re so hard to defend.  I think New England will at worst be 6-2, 5-3, here in the CCC.”

NEC (3-3) traveled to Daniel Webster on Thursday.  They will get another shot at Gordon on January 11th.

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6’7” Antoine Sylvia made life real interesting for first-team all-conference Jon Marstaller putting in 17 points and collecting 10 rebounds and blocking 4 shots.  One time I thought I saw his hand up near the 35-second clock above the backboard……………You don’t see it very often but there was Jerry Logan using a behind-the-back pass to get Justin Kaufman a lay-up……………Every charging call seemed to get at least one coach to become hysterical………………Ryan Jaziri and Pat Quinn not only took long shots but some of those shots also fall-aways………………The biggest cheer of the night may have been Sylvia’s jam after a nice feed from Pat Quinn……………If Gordon had a hockey team and a rink next to the Bennett Center I wonder where the fans would go if both the basketball team and the hockey team were playing at the same time?  Fans at NEC had that choice on this evening………………Amy Dodd put on a foul shooting clinic (13-for-16) as the Gordon women were also victorious.