MILTON, Mass. – The Curry College men's basketball team dropped a 76-71 conference decision to visiting Gordon College on Tuesday night. The Colonels fell to 0-7 on the season while the Fighting Scots improved to 5-2 overall and 3-0 in league play.
The game was nip-and-tuck early on as Gordon was able to build a 7-2 lead following a three-pointer by Eric Demers (Acushnet, Mass.). Curry went on a 7-0 run to claim the lead at 9-7 following a jump shot by Paul Preziosi (Quincy, Mass.). With the lead, the Colonels embarked on an 11-0 run to stretch the lead to 13 at 21-8.
The Fighting Scots cut into the lead and trimmed the deficit to seven on a three-point play by Sam Johnson (Chatham, Mass.) to make the Colonel lead 29-22 with 4:59 to go in the first half.
Curry fought back and pushed the lead to double digits once again on a free throw by Jordan George-Bellitti (Cambridge, Mass.) and then stretched it to 12 on a layup by Preziosi at 34-26. The lead would remain at 12 going into the first half intermission after James Pina (Warwick, R.I.) hit a jump shot to make the score 41-29 going into the locker room.
The Colonels had four players in double-figures highlighted by Jordan George-Bellitti, Pina and Preziosi, who each had 15 apiece. Jaelen George-Bellitti (Cambridge, Mass.) chipped in 12 points as the other Curry player in double figures.
The Fighting Scots were led by Demers, who finished with a game-high 27. Garrison Duvivier (Brockton, Mass.) pitched in 18 points and nine rebounds and Johnson put up a double-double of 13 points and 19 rebounds as the other two Gordon players in double figures.
The Fighting Scots began to chip away at the first half deficit trimming the Colonel lead to single digits at 45-36 at the 16:21 mark on two converted free throws by Duvivier.
With every answer by Gordon the Colonels would respond right back. Following the free throws, Jordan George-Bellitti sent the lead back to 12 after a made three and then Jaelen George-Bellitti pushed the lead to 13 with a three of his own.
After Jared Thorpe-Johnson (Dorchester, Mass.) hit a three to make the score 58-43 with 11:50 to go Gordon pulled to within two with a 13-0 to make the score, 58-56.
But like all night, with every Fighting Scot run the Colonels responded. With 6:23 to go in regulation, Preziosi made a layup, got fouled and converted the free throw to extend the lead to five.
With 1:21 left, Demers knocked down a three to trim the lead to just two and then he knocked down two free throws with 1:17 to go to tie the game at 71. Gordon tallied the final six points of the game and won the game by a final of 76-71.
The two teams shot an identical 40% from the field while Gordon shot 47.1% from distance (8-for-17). Curry held the edge at the free throw line, hitting 18-for-22 and also had the advantage in the assists and turnovers column. The Colonels capitalized off 20 Fighting Scot turnovers and converted them into 23 points. The Fighting Scots held a slight advantage in points in the paint (24-22) while Curry's bench recorded 12 points to Gordon's 11.
Curry begins a three game road trip on Sunday when they head to Emerson for a 1 p.m. tip. Gordon will travel to Worcester State on Thursday for a 5:30 non-conference contest.