WENHAM, Mass. - Gordon escaped with a hard-fought 74-68 victory over conference rival Curry on Saturday afternoon at the Bennett Center. The win was Gordon's eighth-consecutive victory and gave the Scots sole possession of first place in The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) with a 5-0 league record. Curry dropped to 4-1 in TCCC play and 7-9 overall.
It was a game of runs, as the Scots jumped out to a 10-0 lead just 2:14 into the contest, courtesy of the inside play of Greg Walker. However, the Colonels battled back, scoring the game's next eight points.
The pressure defense of the Colonels forced 16 first-half turnovers by the Scots. But Gordon shot 60% from the field in the first half. Brady Bajema's three-pointer out of the corner gave Gordon a 37-23 lead going into the break.
The lead was quickly erased in an electric second half, as the Colonels’ senior Mark Mastrullo came out blazing. After being held scoreless in the first half, Mastrullo erupted for 22 second-half points including five treys. Mastrullo and sophomore Jarrell Jackson helped Curry score the first nine points of the second half, cutting the deficit to five at 37-32. The pair led Curry all the way back to a 46-all tie with 11:42 to play after Jackson set up junior Michael Worrick for a layup.
With the game in doubt, Gordon responded with its own offensive fireworks. Over an eight-minute stretch between 12:50 and 4:41 in the second half, the Scots drained seven 3-pointers, as Brady Bajema, Aaron Trigg, Austin Bentson, and Garrett Harden all struck from long range, to put the Scots back in control, as Gordon built its lead back to 65-57 with 4:41 to play. A late Mastrullo 3-pointer with 1:09 pulled Curry to within five points, but solid Gordon free throw shooting did not allow Curry to ever get the ball with a chance to score in the final moments.
The Scots outrebounded Curry 44-25 overall, which helped make up for their 26 turnovers. Bajema and Trigg combined for 44 points, as Trigg scored 23 and Bajema scored 21. Greg Walker added 14 points for Gordon, while Ben Gaskill ripped down 13 rebounds.
In addition to Mastrullo’s 22, the Colonels received 19 points from Jackson, 11 from senior Philippe Jourdain, and 10 from Worrick. Curry’s high rebounder was junior Chris Bonadies with eight.
Gordon (12-3) will look to continue their winning streak on Tuesday at 7PM with a non-conference matchup against Newbury. Curry travels to face Anna Maria on Thursday at 7PM.
Box Score/Play-By-Play
