Men’s Basketball Wins Thriller over Gordon on Senior Day, 65-59

QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College men's basketball team edged Gordon 65-59 Saturday afternoon at the Lahue Physical Education Center in the final contest of the regular season.

The Lions wrap up the regular season with a 21-4 overall record and a 14-4 mark in the Commonwealth Coast Conference. The Fighting Scots fall to 11-14 on the year and 8-10 in league action with the result.

With the win, Eastern Nazarene locked up the No. 3 seed in the Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament and earned a first-round home game. The Lions will battle sixth-seeded Roger Williams at the Lahue Physical Education Center February 24 at 7 pm.

At the halftime intermission, the Eastern Nazarene College men's basketball team honored the program's lone senior: Alex Jarman (Portsmouth, R.I.).

Jaylen Owens (Johns Creek, Ga.) poured in a game-high 27 points while adding six boards and four assists. Christian Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) registered 12 points off the bench while Corey Doran (Fairfield, Calif.) finished with 10 points and four boards. Jarman hauled in a team-best 10 rebounds in the game and tallied eight points, four assists, three blocks and three steals.

The guests gained a five-point advantage with 14:20 to go in the half as Taylor Bajema banked in a layup, 8-3.

The home side claimed a one-point edge on a triple from Lynch with 12:04 left to play in the period.

Eastern Nazarene widened the margin to five points on a layup by Lynch after Owens dialed up a three-pointer, 15-10, midway through the first frame.

Gordon leveled the score at 19-19 with 7:09 on the clock as Craig McFarlane sank a trey.

The Fighting Scots established a six-point lead with 3:30 remaining on a layup and free throw by Jake hart, 29-23.

The Lions pulled to within one as Justin Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) nailed a three-pointer.

The visitors held a one-point edge at halftime after Jason Dempsey hit a pair of free throws with 1:09 left to play.

Owens paced the Lion with 13 first-half points while Lynch chipped in with five points.

Eastern Nazarene posted a field-goal percentage of 39.4% at the half to go with 3-of-9 makes from the perimeter. Gordon shot 51.9% from the floor in the first frame and 25% from long distance.

The Lions jumped out to a 36-35 lead just 2:48 into the second stanza as Doran converted a three-point play from the charity stripe.

The Fighting Scots recaptured a seven-point gap with 10:54 left to play as Dylan Marshall drilled a trey, 49-42.

Eastern Nazarene clawed back to seize a 51-49 advantage on back-to-back layups by Lynch with 8:11 to go in the contest.

Gordon regained a 56-52 edge with 5:11 left to play as Marshall deposited a jumper.

The Lions moved back into the lead with 1:30 remaining in regulation, 58-57. After Owens' jump shot bounced off the iron, Jarman elevated to tip-in the go-ahead hoop.

Eastern Nazarene stretched its advantage to 61-57 on a key trey by Owens from the right corner with under one minute left to play.

The two squads traded buckets before Owens sealed the victory with a pair of free throws with five seconds on the clock.

The Lions shot 43.1% from the floor and 35.7% from three-point range on the afternoon. The Fighting Scots recorded a field-goal percentage of 42.1% while connecting on 21.1% of their attempts from beyond the arc.

Miersma led Gordon with 17 points and 17 rebounds while Yang added nine points.