WENHAM, Mass. - The Gordon College Men's Basketball team held a lead over rival Curry College for only 31 seconds in the final half, but the Scots completed a comeback in the closing minute for a 63-59 win. The Fighting Scots used four made free throws in the close 15 seconds to break a 59-59 tie.
Hans Miersma looked like he would take over early on, setting the pace of the game by dunking emphatically on the Scots' second offensive possession. Miersma added a second bucket on the next possession on a nice give-and-go from Park Thomas to give Gordon its largest lead at 4-0.
Curry responded with a 9-0 run until the 13:00 mark in the half capped off by a Paul Preziosi layup. However, the Scots answered with an extended 14-6 run of their own to regain a four-point lead at 19-15 with seven minutes remaining in the first stanza. Luke Hamilton, Dominic Paradis and Alex Carnes all hit triples to help the Scots recover a slender lead.
The game of runs continued for the remainder of the half as the Colonels caught fire in the closing minutes and outscored the Scots 14-5 the rest of the way to take a five-point lead into the break. Lambros Papalambros made all three of his shots for eight points during the run, including a three to give the Colonels their largest lead of the half at 29-21. Carnes was able to hit his second three of the half in the final minute to close the gap to five before the halftime whistle.
Curry extended their lead to as many as 11 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half, but the Scots slowly began to chip away at the deficit after going down 46-35 with 13 minutes left in regulation.
Over the next five minutes, Gordon mounted a methodical comeback by scoring on six of seven possessions to take their first lead of the half, 50-49, with 7:40 on the clock. Miersma and Carnes each delivered big-time shots during the run, but it was the heady play of Jason Dempsey who helped continue the streak.
The two teams traded the lead back and forth for the next stretch, but Curry grabbed a four-point lead on a pair of free throws by Rodney Beldo with only four minutes to play. Gordon called a timeout following the made shots by Beldo and the tide changed in the Scots' favor.
The Scots (5-6) received two quick buckets from their big guns Miersma and Carnes to tie the game at 59 aside. Gordon's defense shut down the Colonels' offense, which was so hot to start the half, in the final four minutes and did not allow another point for the remainder.
Carnes was fouled on a drive to the basket with 13 ticks on the clock and drained both of his free throws to set up Curry's final possession. Papalambros got past his defender on the edge, but he was met by Carnes and Miersma in the lane. Carnes deflected Papalambros' final attempt and was subsequently fouled to extend Gordon's final lead to 63-59.
Antonio Jones led the Colonels with 18 points, including a 4-for-4 shooting performance at the line. Papalambros finished with his season average for 15 points and at one point had made three consecutive 25-footers to give Curry their double-digit lead.
Carnes finished with a season-high 22 points, making three of his four attempts from deep. He also added eight rebounds, a block and a steal in 32 minutes of play. Miersma showed off with a dominating performance of 17 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks, as the Scots improved to 3-2 in Commonwealth Coast Conference play.
Gordon outrebounded the Colonels 38-25, with each team wrangling in eight offensive boards.
Curry (2-8) will look to rebounds with a home game against Endicott on Saturday afternoon. Gordon goes back on the road this Saturday, traveling to Salve Regina (9-3) for a 3:00 p.m. tip. (Recap courtesy of Gordon Sports Information)
