Gordon Scots lose seven today at 127th commencement

Junior Eric Demers with the seven seniors

Noah Szilagyi and Garrisson Duvivier

(Wenham MA) What weather!

Today was Gordon College’s 127^th commencement.

As is our habit, we attend primarily to get one last look at the seniors on the Gordon men’s basketball team.

Seven players graduated this year from a very successful (23-5) team from a roster of sixteen players.

Julie and I always run into people at the graduation that we know connected to Gordon that are not connected to the basketball team.

Beth Moore gets honorary doctorate

Beth Moore was one of the five recipients getting honorary doctorates today.

Back to the weather: sunny in the low 70s.  That doesn’t fit in to anything we’ve had since the snow around here melted.  God was good.

To get a sense of the way the weather has been, the high school baseball team in Falmouth (ME) has had two practices and will be playing ten games in the next twelve days!

So today was truly beautiful on the Gordon campus.

Josh Ribeiro, Luke Meyer, Cody Hunt, Jake Haar, and Brett Bowman

I try to get each of the players in three places; before, on their way to get their diplomas, and afterwards.

Gordon team; past, present, and future

Several group arrangements fell nicely into place afterwards.

I think that this may well be the most significant turnover of players the Scots have ever had.  Six of the graduates were with the program for four years.

Garrisson Duvivier

Gordon’s all-time top scorer (Garrisson Duvivier) is among those moving on.

Point?  That program they have available pregame at home games is going to come in extremely handy in the early games next season!

We certainly wish the graduates well.  It has been our pleasure to watch them.  It has also been nice for us to interact with the parents of the players.

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

Beth Moore

Val Gin and Brett Bowman

Cody Hunt

Julie and Bess Watson

Jill Kefalas

David and AJ

Garrisson and Eric

Noah and Jake

Jake

Josh Ribeiro

Luke Meyer

Noah Szilagyi

 

 

Nichols takes 3rd straight CCC title 105-90 over Gordon

Nichols begins to celebrate a third straight CCC title

Three straight for Nichols

(Worcester MA) It took Nichols three minutes to score a point.

Later, they went through another three-minute segment in which Gordon outscored them, 17-4.

The other thirty-four minutes?  Nichols poured out the points freely and overpowered Gordon, 105-90, to capture a third straight Commonwealth Coast Conference tournament title on Saturday night at the spacious Hart Center on the campus of Holy Cross.

The Scots (23-5) fell behind nine minutes into the game and unsuccessfully chased the Bison (25-2) the rest of the way.

Marcos Echevarria – 31 points and 9 assists

DeAnte Bruton – 32 points, 5 assists, 4 steals

DeAnte Burton (32 points) and Marcos Echevarria (31 points) feasted on the GC zone defense.

“Gordon is a tough team,” said Marcos Echevarria afterwards. “They played a 2-3 zone and they knew we have struggled against it.  We worked on it in practice.  We tried to get the ball to DeAnte (Bruton) or in my hands and run pick-and-rolls.  It worked out for the best.”

Marcos reached 2,434 career points in the game and became the leading scorer in CCC history.

Gordon awaits the awards ceremony

Sometimes statistics can be misleading but not in this game.  “We couldn’t get stops but we also had a lot of bad turnovers and gave up some second shots,” said Gordon coach Tod Murphy.

The Scots had twenty-one turnovers against a team that didn’t press.  The Bison jumped passing lanes and had fourteen steals.

Second shots?  This was the killer stat: NC had nineteen more shots than Gordon.  Their nineteen offensive rebounds were a season-high against the Scots.

Garrisson Duvivier jams

Gordon’s shining moments were in the three minutes right after they fell behind, 46-30, late in the first half.  The Scots went on a 17-4 tear.

This segment of excellent GC basketball included an Eric Demers triple, free throws by Garrisson Duvivier, and crowd-pleasing dunks by David Massillon and Garrisson at the half’s end.

The good roll continued as GC started the second half with another dunk by Garrisson, and three’s by Garrisson and Eric.

This crowd-pleasing assortment of good offense tightened things considerably to, 50-47, but not for long.

Nate Tenaglia and Eric Demers

The bad stats referenced earlier kicked in and the Scots lost ground thereafter rapidly. Over the final nineteen minutes the team from Dudley (MA) poured in fifty-five points.

Nichols was the only team to score over one hundred points against the Scots in a game…….and they did it twice.

“Our guys were unselfish, sharing the ball and creating great opportunities for each other,” said Nichols coach Scott Faucher postgame.  “The ball was moving.  We found each other.  We got good looks.”

Marcos Echevarria uses a screen

“We tried to play a little more matchup zone,” said Coach Murphy, “but they recognized it and started running pick-and-rolls.  They are a great team.”

“We sent Marcos (Echevarria) out on a good note,” explained Nate Tenaglia.  “Now we’re going to get ready for the NCAA tournament.”

“We’ve gotten knocked out early (in the NCAA’s) the past two years,” said Marcos.  “This is my senior year, and this is our time to do better.”

Garrisson Duvivier ended a remarkable career with; 26 points, 8 assists, 3 blocks, and 3 steals.  He leaves as Gordon’s all-time leading scorer.

Eric Demers produced 24 points and was 6-for-12 from long range.

Josiah Kimball and David Massillon

Freshman David Massillon showed another glimpse of what he’s capable of with ten points and eight rebounds in short minutes.

The Bison go into the NCAA tournament on a fourteen-game win streak.  Last loss?  January 7^th to Gordon.

Nichols is 95-11 during the last six CCC regular seasons.  They have been in the CCC championship game for six straight seasons.  Did I mention that they are very good?

Young Nichols fan

Using the Hart Center at Holy Cross for the title game was a stroke of genius by whoever was responsible.  Over 2,000 people got an in-person look at a terrific game.  The Nichols gymnasium seats about 300 people.

“The atmosphere here was crazy,” said Nate Tenaglia. “I’ve never seen anything like it before.  It was fun to play in.  The past two years (at Nichols) they had to turn people away.  All my family and friends were here for this one.”

Gordon AD Jon Tymann graced my wife and I with front row seats.  Only fear was someone diving out of bounds into our laps!

Jake Haar defends

“It was a great season,” said Coach Murphy.  “The memories I have of these seniors is that they’ve done more for me than I could ever imagine.”

My plan is to get one more look at the seniors at graduation in May.

As the Gordon players filed out of the somber locker room, Coach Murphy had a hug and words for each of them.  One of the seniors said, “Coach, you’ve made me a better person.  Thanks.”

Box from the game

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

Bajemas in the crowd

Ball on the floor

DeAnte Bruton and Noah Szilagyi

Eric Demers in front of the Gordon crowd

Garrisson Duvivier – Gordon’s all-time leading scorer

Garrisson Duvivier tightly guarded by Matt Morrow

Jerome Cunningham leads a break

Josh Ribeiro gets back on defense

 

 

 

Gordon reaches CCC title game after 103-89 win over Roger Williams

Clock runs out on Roger Williams

Garrisson Duvivier (28 points) checks out

(Wenham MA) Big doings in just one game.

Gordon (22-4) outlasted Roger Williams, 103-89, to reach the Commonwealth Coast Conference title game on Saturday at Holy Cross (4:30PM).

But that’s not all.

Senior Garrisson Duviver (28 points) passed Jim Petty to gain the top spot as Gordon’s all-time leading scorer.

The shooting in this game was remarkable.  Defense was being played by both teams, but it didn’t seem to have much effect!

Eli Harris (20 points) made six 3’s for the Hawks

Roger Williams (15-12) made eleven three’s in the first half and still trailed by two (51-49).

“I didn’t know if they were ever going to miss a shot,” said GC coach Tod Murphy post-game.  “At halftime I said, ‘I don’t know whether to be scared out of my mind because we’re shooting and playing so well and only up by two or if I should be thrilled that they’ve made so many three’s (11-for-19) that they can’t keep it up.’”

As it turned out, the Scots (23-4) never cooled off.  In the second half they made nineteen of twenty-seven field goal attempts including an astonishing 7-for-8 from long range.  They were also 7-for-7 from the foul line.

That sort of shooting is hard to match but credit the Hawks, they were still able to be close (85-85) with 5:43 left.

Eric Demers (four assists) passes inside to Garrisson Duvivier

After that?  The team from Bristol (RI) had unproductive possessions while the Scots rolled on in their happy shooting ways.

If you’re looking for big shots, Jake Haar’s two three’s (assisted by Eric Demers) in Gordon’s next three possessions will do.  Garrisson Duvivier had a layup in between the two triples and suddenly Gordon was up, 93-85, with three minutes left.

Again credit RW for hanging in there.  Two Austin Coene (36 points) layups surrounded a Garrisson Duviver turnoever and the Scots’ lead was only four (93-89) with 2:14 left.

Turning point alert: Over the final 2:14 the Hawks didn’t score again.  Missed a jump shot, a layup, a three, and had two turnovers.

Jake Haar (15 points) hit five 3’s for the Scots

Meanwhile, the Scots added two points on each of their final five possessions; layups Eric Demers and Garrisson Duvivier, and free throws Noah Szilagyi (4) and Eric Demers (2).

That closing run was enough to give Gordon a 103-89 semifinals win.

“There is great competition in the CCC,” said Garrisson afterwards.  “In the tournament everyone is coming to play.  Roger Williams brought it tonight.”

There were seven ties and six lead changes.

Noah Szilagyi (14 points)

“It was like the Nichols game and the Wentworth game,” said Coach Murphy.  “I wish we could get up and stay up.”

“You go through highs and you go through lows,” said Garrisson, “but you do it together.  It was our group of guys coming together.  We just kept attacking.”

Gordon will face top seed Nichols (24-2) in the title game.  Five years ago was the last time the Scots got this far.  The opponent then?  Nichols.

“The last time we were in this game was against Nichols,” said Coach Murphy, “and it turned out pretty well.”

Possibly lost in all the interest in Garrisson’s quest to be the GC all-time scorer was the play of the other four starters.

Parker Omslaer – eight points, nine rebounds, 4-for-5 shooting.

Eric Demers (34 points)

Eric Demers – thirty-four points on a very hot 13-for-17 shooting, four assists.

Noah Szilagyi – fourteen points, three steals.

Jake Haar – most 3’s (five) he’s had since Salem State in November, fifteen points, three assists.

It truly was, as Garrisson said, a team effort.

The CCC’s player-of-the year (Austin Coene) was good as usual: 36 points, 6 assists, 8 rebounds.

Austin Coene (36 points)

“Austin is an unbelievable player,” said Coach Murphy. “I’m thrilled not to have to play against him anymore.”

Freshman Eli Harris (20 points) hit six triples for the Hawks.

Coach Murphy on Garrisson: “I didn’t think that he’d score like he’s done.  When I recruited him he weighed about 190 pounds.  He showed up on campus and he was 220.  I said, ‘this is a kid who wants to be the best.’ I knew he wanted it and would work at it.”

Garrisson on being the scoring leader: “It’s a blessing.  I never thought it would happen.  I knew I was close, but I didn’t know if I was going to get it or not.  It’s just the grace of God that has allowed me to be here and doing what I’ve done. The record would have meant nothing if we hadn’t won the game.”

Box from the game

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

Austin Coene in the lane

Austin Coene looks for an opening

Avelino Damoura

Drew Hart and Garrisson Duvivier

Eric Demers on the move

Garrisson Duvivier finger roll

Noah Szilagyi in for two

Garrisson Duvivier layup

 

 

 

Gordon advances after 94-77 win against Wentworth

Noah Szilagyi guards Tyler Lennon

Kyle Henseler shoots from in front of the Gordon student section

(Wenham MA) Wentworth’s record wasn’t that impressive but they had one-possession losses to both #1 Nichols and #2 Gordon.

No question that a quarterfinals matchup with the Leopards presented plenty of risks.

But tonight, the Scots (22-4) were excellent on both ends of the court and defeated Wentworth, 94-77,

Gordon will host Roger Williams on Thursday night at the Bennett Center.

The Scots were desperate for a restart after finishing the season with losses to Nichols and Endicott.

Parker Omslaer had nine rebounds

“I told the team after the Endicott game that we would only be playing one more game if we played selfishly like we just did,” said GC coach Todd Murphy afterwards.  “The guys met on Sunday night and talked about it.”

The seven assists that the Scots totaled against Endicott were more than equaled in just the first half against Wentworth.  The game total was sixteen.

Eric Demers (30) and Garrisson Duvivier (22) led the Gordon scoring but on this, share-the-ball evening, the other three starters contributed significantly.

Noah Szilagyi had seventeen points on seven-for-eleven shooting.  The senior is shooting nearly 65% during the past five games.  Noah also added four assists against WIT.

Parker Omslaer had twelve points and nine rebounds.  He missed only one shot.

Ball off the court

Jack Haar made two 3’s and had two assists.

“There was a lot more ball movement and sharing the ball,” explained Coach Murphy.  “When we do that, we’re at our best.  It’s the only way we’re going to win a championship.”

The visitors didn’t go quietly into the night. They were still hanging around (46-43) at halftime.

“I thought we played pretty well in the first half, but we weren’t getting enough stops,” said Noah Szilagyi.  “We would go on runs but they would always counter them.”

Kyle Henseler had a big night for the Leopards

That continued into the second half.  The Scots went up by nine (52-43) but back came Wentworth on a three by Kyle Henseler (24 points) to narrow the lead to 54-50.

It was still four (60-56) with 12:48 left.  Then Eric Demers scored a layup and hit a three and the GC lead returned to nine (65-56).

Layups by Zach Bergeon and Stephen Azums (16 points) and the Gordon lead was down to five (65-60) with 10:38 remaining.

The Scots finally broke out into a double-digit lead (72-60) after two Eric Demers free throws, a Josh Crutchfield three, and a Parker Omslaer layup.

Jake Haar puts up a three over Gavin Keough

The team from Boston (MA) couldn’t get within ten points over the final 8+ minutes.

“I thought we wore them down in the second half,” said Noah.  “The second half defense was what won the game for us.”

The tighter GC zone limited Wentworth to two made three’s in the second half.

“We couldn’t contain (Kyle) Henseler,” said Coach Murphy, “but we did a better job on Gavin Keough.”  To call the defense on Gavin Keough, “better,” certainly understates tonight’s defense which allowed Gavin no made three’s when he had seven the last time he was in the Bennett Center.

Eric Demers (30 points) in close

By my figuring (unverified by the Gordon Athletic Department), Eric Demers passed two more former players (Woody Anderson & Doug Lindland) and is now third on the GC all-time scoring list with 1647 points.

Garrisson Duvivier, who moved into second place in late January, has now reached 1880 points.  That puts him only twenty-three points away from being Gordon’s top all-time scorer.  Could a semi-finals win and a record-setting performance be taken care of by the end of the game on Thursday night?

Noah on making the CCC 3^rd team: “I wasn’t really surprised by it, but it sure made me happy.  I had never set personal goals before, but I did in November and one of them was to earn CCC recognition.”

Garrisson Duvivier (22 points) blocks out

Coach Murphy: “I don’t know how we scored 94 points against a really good defensive team like Wentworth.  We’ll be back in the gym tomorrow night getting ready for Roger Williams.  I’m looking forward to it.  It will be fun,”

Good active crowd again at the Bennett Center.  There’s room for more on Thursday night.

Box from the game

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

Tyler Lennon (3) up for a block

Ball in the lane

Garrisson Duvivier fires up the crowd late in the game

Gavin Keough gets to the rim

Loose ball

Noah Szilagyi (17 points) puts up a floater

Parker Omslaer (12 points) shoots over Stephen Azums

 

 

 

Gordon drops 2nd straight with 80-71 loss at Endicott

Gordon coach Tod Murphy and Endicott coach Kevin Bettencourt after today’s game

Keith Brown (25 points) and Garrisson Duvivier (20 points)

(Beverly MA) The atmosphere was at the tournament level.

Large crowd and a persistent noise that elevated or dropped as each possession ended.

Fortunately for Gordon, the tournament atmosphere wasn’t the real thing.  They did lose to Endicott (80-71) on Saturday afternoon but it was “only” a regular season game.

The Commonwealth Coast Conference tourney begins on Tuesday: Gordon (21-4) hosts Wentworth while Western New England will be coming to Endicott (17-8).

In early January, when the Scots faced Nichols and Endicott in back-to-back games, there was reason for concern.  Nichols had ten straight wins versus Gordon while Endicott had eliminated the Scots from the CCC tournament the previous year.

Senior Joe Shehadi puts up a three. The Gulls were 17-for-36.

But Gordon won those games and the victories became part of a fifteen-game winning streak.

But that was in January.

Now, in February the repeat of the back-to-backs hasn’t gone well.  The Scots carry a two-game losing streak as they head into the tournament on Tuesday night at the Bennett Center.

“We’ve got a very good team,” said Gordon coach Tod Murphy after the loss.  “We’ve had a bad week.  If we’ll stay together and play together, we’ll win together.”

Endicott came into today’s game on a two-game slide after losses to Roger Williams and Western New England.

Garrisson Duvivier in for two

“We’ve had a couple of tough losses,” explained Endicott coach Kevin Bettencourt,  “but we had answers today.  It hasn’t always been that way.”

The large Senior’s Day crowd saw the top two teams in the conference in 3-point shooting percentage.

On this afternoon, however, the long-range shot was pure gold for the Gulls (17-for-36) and fool’s gold (4-for-20) for the team from Wenham.

“We didn’t defend in the first half,” said Coach Murphy describing his team’s zone defense.  “We gave them too many 3-point shots.  Most of them were open looks.”

Parker Omslaer guarded by Matt McDevitt

Sophomore Matt McDevitt (20 points) connected six times (in eleven tries) from beyond the arc.  Matt had a similar performance in the CCC tourney last year against Gordon. However, in EC’s January loss to GC, Matt was 0-for-6 on three’s and finished with only two points.  Hard to figure the extremes!

Much of today’s game was played at the one-possession level.  Gordon, however, was usually the team needing a good possession to catch up.

Because of suspect outside shooting, the Scots concentrated on creating offense through Garrisson Duvivier in close.  With less concern over long shots, the Gulls could send help to protect the inside.

Garrisson still managed twenty points against the tight defense of seniors Vinny Clifford and Nick Thibeault.

Garrisson Duvivier and Vinny Clifford

“Garrisson is one of the best players we’ve had to guard in my five years,” said Coach Bettencourt. “Vinny/Nick did great.  He had to work for everything he got.”

With 4:10 left, the Gulls had a slender, 72-70, lead.

Where the game was lost? The Scots had just one point the rest of the way and it wasn’t for lack of opportunities.  Four missed three’s and two turnovers ruined any GC comeback plans.

The Gulls, on the other hand, turned up good offense down the stretch.  A layup (Matt McDevitt) and two free throws (Jordan Pettway) boosted the EC lead to six (76-70) and then two killer three’s (Keith Brown & Vinny Clifford) sealed the deal for the home team.

Eric Demers (18 points) loose for a three

“Garrisson and Eric (Demers) didn’t look like they had their legs today,” said Coach Murphy.  “I’ve probably been playing them too many minutes but it’s the end of the season and we need guys to dig down deep right now.”

Junior Keith Brown led Endicott with twenty-five points on 10-for-15 shooting.  He also handed out five assists.  The Gulls finished with twenty assists.

Garrisson Duvivier put thirteen rebounds together with his twenty points.

Rough afternoon for junior Eric Demers.  Despite getting eighteen points, it took him twenty-one shots to get there.  He was a very uncharacteristic 1-for-10 from beyond the arc.

Noah Szilagyi (15 points) shoots over Keith Brown

Senior Noah Szilagyi continued his hot shooting making six of nine attempts for fifteen points.

Endicott honored seniors; John Homsey, Nick Thibeault, Vinny Clifford, and Joe Shehadi before the game.

Both teams had plenty of vocal fan support on hand.

Coach Bettencourt: “We’re hoping to carry this momentum into next week.”

Coach Murphy: “We can still go out there and win three in a row and get to the NCAA tournament.”

Delighted to see the Gordon women pull the upset of the year in the CCC with a 62-60 thriller over first-place Endicott.  It was in February of 2005 that Gordon’s last win over EC happened in the CCC semifinals.  Fourteen years!

Box from the game

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

Brooke Dyson after Gordon defeated Endicott for the first time in FOURTEEN years.

David Massillon jams on Nick Thibeault

Eric Demers defended by John Homsey (25)

Eric Demers looks to pass

Garrisson Duvivier looks for an opening against Vinny Clifford

Garrisson Duvivier defended by Vinny Clifford

Joe Shehadi and Josh Crutchfield

Jordan Pettway

Jordan Pettway and Eric Demers

Nick Thibeault, Garrisson Duvivier, and Matt McDevitt (34)

Noah Szilagyi tries to get away from Matthew Catizone

Vinny Clifford and Keith Brown block out Garrisson Duvivier

 

 

 

 

Nichols cools Gordon 107-93 to claim regular season title

DeAnte Bruton (27 points) breaks after a Gordon turnover

Garrisson Duvivier (34 points) powers to the hoop over Matt Morrow

(Wenham MA) Big game.

Big crowd.

Big disappointment.

Nichols (22-2) never trailed defeating Gordon (21-3) 107-93 before the season’s best crowd at the Bennett Center on Wednesday night.

The win gives the Bison a bye in the Commonwealth Coast Conference quarterfinals next Tuesday.

The Scots will get the #8 seed at home on Tuesday at the Bennett Center.

Gordon had won an earlier meeting between the two teams (76-72) at Dudley (MA) in January.

The Scots put up plenty of points tonight but never could slow Nichols down enough on the defensive end to make the game close in crunch time.

The Bison had three starters score in the twenties; DeAnte Bruton (27), Marcos Echevarria (26), and Matt Morrow (21).  6-8 Jerome Cunningham ended with fourteen points and had five assists.

Nate Tenaglia shadowed Eric Demers

The key player for Nichols may well have been the other starter, sophomore Nate Tenaglia.  Nate was assigned to cover Eric Demers.

“Nate is as tough as it gets,” said Nichols coach Scott Faucher afterwards.  “He loves guarding the other team’s best player.”

Eric again finished with 32 points but needed twenty-nine shots to get there. Last time, with Nate not playing, Eric was a warm 10-for-21.

“He (Eric Demers) is tough to guard,” explained Nate. “He hit some shots down the end, but I held him to nine points in the first half.”

The Bison were much more patient against the Gordon zone than they were last time.  “We were sharing the ball offensively,” said Coach Faucher.  “We got a lot of in-rhythm shots which is what we wanted.”

Noah Szilagyi eyes the Nichols defense

Gordon coach Tod Murphy reflected on the loss: “It’s one loss.  Tonight was their night.  They deserved to win.  We beat them at their place so now we’re even.  We’ve proven that we can beat them on their court so if it comes down to that we’ll have another opportunity.”

Nichols shooting was certainly improved over last time, but their defense was also.  The Scots had fifteen turnovers, but the killer stat connected to the miscues was that the Bison turned those mistakes into 29 points.  Nichols had ten steals.

“If we take away our mental mistakes and turnovers, we would have been right with them,” added Coach Murphy.

Garrisson Duvivier and Jerome Cunningham

The Scots had very few open shots but that didn’t stop them from putting up points.  6-6 Garrisson Duvivier saw plenty of 6-8 Matt Morrow and 6-8 Jerome Cunningham but still managed 34 points and 15 rebounds.  Last time Garrisson was able to get the NC big men in foul trouble but not this time.

The stats declare that this was GD’s best game of the season.  He had only three turnovers and shot an impressive 15-for-24.

I thought that Garrisson might not have enough season left to catch Jim Petty (1902 points) as the all-time leading Gordon scorer.  Not so fast.  Garrisson, with tonight’s 34 points, is at 1843.  He’s 59 points away.  Endicott on Saturday and a run of tournament games might be enough.

Eric made another pass tonight with his thirty-two points.  He moved by Aaron Trigg (honored at Homecoming) into 5^th place.

Marcos Echevarria (26 points) looks for a pass

Gordon takes on Endicott on Saturday to end the regular season.  The Gulls ran into the same Western New England team tonight (and lost badly) that defeated Gordon in January.

A win or a loss against Endicott will not change Gordon’s spot, as the #2 seed, in the CCC tournament.

Play the Endicott game a little differently as a result?  “Not a chance,” said Coach Murphy.  “It’s Endicott.  We’re going to be preparing for the tournament starting Saturday.”

Coach Faucher: “Our guys played with a lot of energy.  We defended.  They wanted this one.  Gordon is a good team.  They’re as tough as anyone.”

Nichols has been a very good team for a while.  This is their 6^th straight season with at least twenty wins.  They have shared or won the CCC regular season title for the last six years.  Their record during the regular season over the past 5+ years?  94-11!

But one of those eleven losses was to Gordon at Nichols.  Will there be a rematch a week from Saturday? Stay tuned.

Box from the game

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

David Massillon drives the lane

Eric Demers (32 points) gets an opening

Garrisson Duvivier tightly guarded by Josiah Kimball

Jake Haar chases a loose ball

Jerome Cunningham and Parker Omslaer

Josh Crutchfield and Marcos Echevarria

Marcos Echevarria (4) lifts a three in front of the Gordon crowd

Eric Demers and Nate Tenaglia

 

 

Gordon (21-2) tops Salve Regina 100-86 on Senior Day

Noah Szilagyi (19 points) had fifteen in the first half

Eric Demers (25 points) changes direction

(Wenham MA) Gordon defeated Salve Regina, 100-86, on Saturday afternoon at the Bennett Center.

As a result, the Scots (21-2) will finish either first or second in the Commonwealth Coast Conference.

Nichols, with the same record, will visit Gordon on Wednesday night.  The Scots end their regular season at Endicott on Saturday afternoon.

“We have our two toughest games of the season coming up,” said GC coach Tod Murphy afterwards.  “Our guys have faced every single challenge this year and only lost two.”

Senior Jake Haar puts up a three in front of a large Bennett Center crowd

The Scots had wins over both Nichols and Endicott the first time around.

Gordon highlighted their seven seniors before this afternoon’s game and five of them were in the starting lineup against the Seahawks.

“We had a lot of energy right away,” said senior Jake Haar.  “The seniors played well and got us a little bit of a lead.  It was a special day for the seven seniors.”

“Noah (Szilagyi) was hot early and knocked down jump shots from everywhere,” said Coach Murphy.  “I’m not sure he missed a shot.  Luke (Meyer) got us started early on, too.  Everyone contributed.”

Kevin Kelly and Garrisson Duvivier (21 points) in close

Noah finished with nineteen points but had fifteen of them in the first half as Gordon created a double-digit lead at the half (53-39) and never looked back.

Coach Murphy was able to follow the “Senior Day script” perfectly.  The seniors started, including several with limited minutes this season. They came back in the final five minutes, and then were replaced in the closing minutes.

“To be able to put them all back in the game and then be able to take them out and give them a curtain call was a great thing,” explained Coach Murphy.

Avelino Damoura leads a break

Senior Josh Ribeiro had ten points for Gordon

Salve Regina (8-16) fell into the double-digit deficit and on this afternoon didn’t have the defense to slow down the GC offense.  The Seahawks have now lost to Gordon ten straight times.

Salve is currently tied with UNE for the final playoff spot.  The Seahawks have winless Curry left while the Nor’easters finish with Wentworth.

“We moved the ball and when we do that, we’re tough to guard,” said Jake Haar.  “That was evident on the scoreboard.  We have been focusing in practice on moving the ball because we’ll have to against Nichols and Endicott.”

Eric Demers to the rim

Because of the senior celebration, junior Eric Demers didn’t get the minutes he usually gets but he still put up some strong numbers: twenty-five points, five assists, and three steals.

The twenty-five points runs his total to 1567 and gets him past Steve Heintz into sixth place on the all-time scoring list.

Senior Garrisson Duvivier added twenty-one points.  He now has 1809 points and trails Gordon’s all-time leading scorer (Jim Petty) by ninety-three points.  With two regular-season games left, possibly two or three in the CCC tournament, and maybe some in the NCAA tournament, there could be a change atop the GC leader board.  But let’s not get ahead of ourselves!

Freshman David Massillon drives

Best crowd of the season took this one in.  Where have some of them been all season?  The team is 11-0 at home.

Senior Josh Ribeiro had a season-high ten points versus SR.

Jake Haar on his Gordon experience: “It flew by super fast.  I’m very grateful for all four years.  I still remember my first shot as if it was yesterday.  My second shot hit the side of the backboard!”

Plans for next year? “I’m not entirely sure.  I’ll probably end up back in California.  Luke (Meyer) is going to UCI and that’s in my area so I’ll have a buddy out there.  I want to get into sales, either medical equipment or pharmaceutical.”

Formers Jaren Yang, Graham Tienhaara, Udoka Obiora, and Richie Armand were in the house.

Box from the game

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

Brett Bowman

Cody Hunt drives

Eric Demers puts up a three

Eric Demers

Garrisson Duvivier to the basket

Noah Szilagyi goes baseline

Noah Szilagyi looks to pass

Luke Meyer to the hoop

Noah Szilagyi makes a save

 

Eric Demers (31) and Garrisson Duvivier (24) lead Gordon to 20th win 88-75 over Curry

Garrisson Duvivier – tough inside

Eric Demers (31 points)

(Amesbury MA) Twenty wins.

Remarkable!

It was the Eric & Garrisson Show for the second straight game and that two-some led the Scots (20-2) past Curry, 88-75, on Tuesday night in Milton (MA).

Nichols kept pace with Gordon defeating Roger Williams.

The rematch with the Bison on the 13^th at the Bennett Center is looking like the biggest regular season game in the Commonwealth Coast Conference this season.

I know that there’s a game this Saturday (Salve Regina) but……..just sayin’.

Tonight Eric Demers had thirty-one points and Garrisson Duvivier added twenty-four.  Curry (1-21) didn’t match up with either of them.

The Colonels seemed better able to play against the Gordon zone than some other teams do. At times they were excellent at passing into open shots and taking the ball at the Gordon shot blockers.  But they missed too many shots.

Parker Omslaer at the foul line

The Scots gained separation in the first half as they ran eleven unanswered points and turned a six-point lead (33-27) into 44-27.  Garrisson, Eric, Parker Omslaer, and Noah Szilagyi contributed.

In the second half, Curry closed to 68-61 before Garrisson put three layups and three free throws together and GC gained final separation, 77-63, with six minutes left.

Parker took full advantage of Curry’s smaller interior defenders dropping seventeen points and taking in fourteen rebounds.  This was his 4^th double/double of the season.

No sign of starter Jake Haar and reserve David Massillon.  Trust that they will return soon.

This was Eric’s third straight game with 30+ points.  His seven turnovers were a big surprise.

Parker had a double/double but he missed seven free throws.

Turnovers and missed free throws could be decisive in the likely-to-be close games ahead.

I admire the enthusiasm I saw online from the Curry bench.  It can’t be easy.  The Colonels are now 2-92 over the past 3+ seasons.  They have lost 67 straight CCC games.  Last win?  Salve Regina in February of 2015.  This season they beat Clark on December 29^th.

Seven seniors to be honored on Saturday before the game with Salve Regina.  Time goes by fast!

Wondering how others explain how Gordon has put together a season that exceeded expectations??

Maybe someone who has already won two CCC titles will finally get recognized by the league.

Box from the game

 

Gordon takes a close one from Wentworth 73-71

Eric Demers had 34 points, 3 assists, 3 steals, and no turnovers to lead the Gordon attack

Happy ending for the Bennett Center crowd

(Wenham MA) Wentworth did everything but win the game.

The Leopards (6-14) recovered from a poor start, hung around, and had the last shot in a 2-point game.

But recovering, hanging around, and taking the last shot wasn’t enough and Gordon escaped with a 73-71 win on Wednesday night.

“Winning ugly is better than losing pretty,” said GC coach Tod Murphy afterwards.  “I still would have liked a little more breathing room at the end.”

Eric Demers (23 points in the first half) soars over Tyler Lennon

Eric Demers (34 points) responded from an 8-point game versus UNE to put his best offensive numbers of the season together.

Eric carried the Scots (18-2) in the first half with twenty-three points.  He ended up with three assists, three steals and zero turnovers for the night.

In the game between these two teams in November in Boston the Leopards struggled on offense losing, 66-47.  WIT didn’t have ANY player in double figures in that one.  But that was then!  This time Stephen Azums registered seventeen points and an amazing twenty-three rebounds.  Teammate Gavin Keough drilled seven 3’s including five in the second half and finished with twenty-one points.

“Our defense needed to be more intense,” explained Noah Szilagyi.  “At times we’re super active and super scrappy.  But #34 (Gavin Keough) was making shots and busting up our zone.  When you see the same guy making 3’s it’s not a good sign for your perimeter defense.”

“We’re going to have close games with good teams,” said Coach Murphy.  “This prepares us for those games.  We have to use this as a learning experience.”

Garrisson Duvivier was a bigger part of the the Gordon offense in the second half

In the early going Gordon could make shots from the perimeter.  It can be fool’s gold out there and a team can be drawn away from other options.

“We didn’t attack the basket in the first half,” said Coach Murphy.  “We had only two free throws.  We had a lot more in the second half.  Garrisson is arguably the best player in the conference and he had no points and three shots in the first half.  Garrisson still didn’t have an efficient game offensively but we did what we had to do to win.”

Garrisson collected his 16^th double/double of the season – 11 points and 10 rebounds.

The Leopards caught the Scots (56-56) with 9:02 left.  They still were even with Gordon (66-66) with 3:48 remaining.

But what separates a team with eighteen wins from one with six wins is what they do in the tight finishes.  The visitors, on this evening, had several unproductive possessions while Gordon’s Garrisson Duvivier made a jump shot and hit two free throws. David Massillon provided the final point with a free throw (73-71) with nineteen seconds left.

Freshman Noah Bice (20) about to take the last shot of the game

There was still time for WIT to tie/win the game but Noah Bice’s very good look (see the picture) missed at the buzzer to seal it for Gordon.

Noah Szilagyi (16 points) in the lane

“We fell into a lull after the hot start and never seemed to wake up out of it,” said Noah.  “At times we rushed shots and weren’t working as a team on offense.”

“It didn’t look like we had fresh legs despite being off for eight days,” said Coach Murphy, “but we did win a tough game.”

The Scots are 10-0 at home this season.

Noah was 7-for-10 tonight.  He entered the game in 5^th place in the conference in field-goal percentage (55.9%).

Avelino Damoura (5) and Noah Bice (20)

I thought that Nichols might have trouble tonight with Western New England, as Gordon did, but it didn’t happen.  The Bison and the Scots each have one loss in the conference.

Gordon will be in Bristol (RI) on Saturday to face Roger Williams.  The Scots literally stole a win from RW when they visited the Bennett Center.

Noah on life after Gordon: “I’m filling out a lot of job applications.  I’m trying to land a job with the Patriots with Richie Armand.  I’ve been talking with them.  I’m trying to stay in basketball and may go back to Denver to coach with some of the people I know there.”

Box from the game

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

Garrisson calls for time

Garrisson Duvivier at the line late in the game

Eric Demers drives past Kyle Henseler

David Massillon at the line in the last minute

David Massillon (15) in the open floor

Kyle Henseler

Joseph Hecker encounters Garrisson Duvivier in the lane

Garrisson Duvivier unleashes a no-look pass

Gordon (17-2) routs UNE 100-71

Eric Demers chased by Avery DeBrito (1) and Ryan Beatty (25)

David Massillon jam

(Wenham MA) You start off missing two shots and having three turnovers.

The opponent steals the ball nineteen times in the game.

You miss sixteen free throws.

Okay, now we’ve got the bad news out of the way!

Gordon recovered from the loss to Western New England on Saturday by defeating the University of New England, 100-71, on Tuesday night at the Bennett Center.

Gordon coach Tod Murphy liked his team’s defense: “We won this game on defense.  They had only fifty-one points with five minutes left.  They’re a team averaging over ninety points a game.  We contested everything.”

Junior Eric Demers liked the Scots’ offense: “We needed a good offensive game like this.  UNE is a great team to bounce back against.  Everyone gets involved.  Everyone gets shots.”

Garrisson Duvivier readies a no-look pass

The Scots (17-2) fell to Western New England on Saturday because they started slowly.  Tonight’s start looked like more of the same.

“Those first two minutes were a nightmare,” recalled Coach Murphy.  “We played terribly.”

UNE jumped into an 8-0 lead but it disappeared in a hurry.  The Scots began to make shots and their defense tightened up.

Gordon moved in front 16-13 and then put effective offense/defense together for the next five minutes.  While the Nor’easters missed seven shots and had three turnovers, Gordon rolled off fourteen unanswered points.  Eric Demers had a layup, a three, and two free throws in this good segment.  Noah Szilagyi added a layup (after a steal) and a three.  Josh Ribeiro contributed a layup.

Noah Szilagyi (14 points) heads for two

That burst put GC in front 30-13.  Halftime was 55-28.

Earlier in the season there was a big lead against Curry that melted in the second half.  Not tonight.  The good Gordon defense stayed in place when the reserves had their turns on the court.

The visitors from Biddeford (Maine) substituted in quantity, pressed full-court, and fired three’s.  The firing three’s part was disrupted by the solid GC perimeter defense.

Unusual scoring numbers tonight.  We usually find either Eric Demers and/or Garrisson Duvivier leading the scoring.  Versus UNE (5-14) it was Parker Omslaer (16), Noah Szilagyi (14) and Avelino Damoura (13).

Avelino Damoura (13 points) had a career game

It was a career scoring night for Avelino.  The sophomore got to the basket and made several three’s.  The less said about his foul shooting, or the team’s foul shooting, for that matter, the better.

When Eastern Nazarene dropped out of the Commonwealth Coast Conference the team total changed to nine.  No longer is every team playing on the days of CCC inter-league play. Point?  Gordon has no game this coming Saturday and won’t play again (Wentworth) until January 29^th.

“It’s a long stretch,” said Coach Murphy.  “We’ll probably take a few days off and go out and do some recruiting.  We’re losing seven players and need to track down some players for next year.”

On finding a replacement for Garrisson Duvivier: “Garrisson is one-of-a-kind.  I don’t think we’ll ever be able to replace him.  I think that David Massillon will be a terrific player in time.”

Garrisson had his 15^th double/double of the season.  GD, in case you’ve forgotten, is Gordon’s 2^nd all-time leading scorer.

Josh Crutchfield in transition

Eric Demers got into foul trouble and saw short minutes as a result.  He had only eight points but his teammate (Josh Ribeiro) assured me that there was no cause for concern: “Eric had a slow night but that’s just one night.  He’s going to come out and score thirty next game.”  Consider yourself warned, Wentworth!

Discussing the Western New England loss that ended a fifteen-game winning streak:

“We had gotten very comfortable as a team,” said Eric.  “It was bound to happen.  It humbled us a little bit.  Western New England put together a great forty minutes and we only put together twenty minutes.”

Scramble for possession

“We didn’t do much regarding the loss to Western New England,” said Coach Murphy.  “Our goal is to get better every day.  Our defensive intensity versus Western New England was nothing like it was tonight.”

Our neighbors in Beverly took another loss to Nichols tonight.  GC and Nichols have only one conference loss each.  The rematch in February (at the Bennett Center) is starting to shape up as a very special game.

Box from the game

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

Brett Bowman

Instructions

Josh Crutchfield looks to pass

Luke Meyer

Adam Konicki (7 points) floats in

Cody Hunt and Pablo De La Guardia Criado

Jake Haar about to launch a three

John Saxe guarded by Kyle Frank