Endicott fall to conference and North Shore rival Gordon 72-59

BEVERLY, Mass. – A game-high 20 points and 13 rebounds by Gordon sophomore forward Hans Miersma (Whitinsville, Mass.) paced a visiting Fighting Scots squad to their fourth straight conference victory as the Endicott men's basketball team was defeated 72-59 at home at MacDonald Gymnasium.

Miersma's ninth double-double of the season helped ward off a second-half rally by the Gulls who came all the way back from being down by 15 to just four points at 45-41 with 9:59 remaining in the game before Gordon pushed ahead for the win.  The Scots improved to 16-6 overall on the season and 11-4 in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) play while Endicott dropped to 9-13 (4-11 CCC). 

The Blue and Green were led offensively by senior guard Lance Greene (Dorchester, Mass.) and junior guard Lachlan Magee (Melbourne, Australia) who scored 13 and 12 points, respectively.  Greene matched Gordon junior Park Thomas (Scotsdale, Ariz.) for a game-high five assists.    

Miersma was complemented by a strong 18-point effort by senior forward David Dempsey (Wallingford, Conn.) who connected on 6-of-9 attempts from the floor and 6-of-11 at the free throw line.  Both Miersma and Dempsey were an integral factor in Gordon's defensive stand that totaled seven blocks as a team and held the Gulls to just 32.3% from the field in the game. 

Gordon's Thomas, along with his five assists, netted 14 points which included a 2-of-4 from three-point range and a perfect 4-of-4 at the free throw line. 

Endicott struggled offensively in the first half, shooting just 24.1%, and defensively as two three-pointers by Scots guard Luke Hamilton (Mount Airy, N.C.) joined strong first period performances by Miersma and Dempsey.  Gordon led 27-22 at the break.

In the second half, Gordon stretched their lead to as many as 15 points at 40-25 just 5:37 into the half before a 10-0 run by Endicott which included three-pointers by junior Bennett Knowlton (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and freshman Dan Powers (Westwood, Mass.) closed the gap to just five points with 11:52 to go.  Over the next two minutes, baskets by sophomores Tell White (New Castle, N.H.) and Andre Makris (Southbury, Conn.) cut the Gordon lead to its lowest point at four points with under 10 minutes remaining in regulation.

Behind a combined 25 points from Dempsey and Miersma, however, the Gulls deficit fell back into double figures before settling on a 72-59 defeat at home.

Endicott converted 17 Gordon turnovers in 21 points, got 14 second-chance from 10 offensive rebounds, and saw their bench outscore Gordon's 18-12 in the game.  The Scots controlled the paint, outscoring the Gulls 34-18 and outrebounded Endicott 43-33 overall.

Endicott next hosts Curry on Saturday, February 9^th at 3:00 pm at MacDonald Gymnasium.  Gordon welcomes Salve Regina also on Saturday at 3:00 pm.  Both games are CCC match ups.