Men’s Basketball Edged at Gordon in Overtime, 87-85

WENHAM, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College men's basketball team suffered an 87-85 loss in overtime at Gordon Saturday afternoon.

The Lions fall to 13-6 on the year and 7-5 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference with the setback. The Fighting Scots improved to 9-10 overall and 6-6 in league play with the victory.

Jaylen Owens (Johns Creek, Ga.) scored a game-high 29 points and added five assists and four steals. Lequan Gomes (Fairfield, Calif.) finished with 16 points and four boards while Christian Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) poured in 15 points off the bench.

Eastern Nazarene got off to a fast-paced start, scoring 11 of the game's first 12 points.

Gordon leveled the contest at 17-17 with 10:51 remaining in the first half on a free throw by Udoka Obiora.

The Lions regained a four-point edge as Jeremy Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) drilled a three-pointer with 9:52 to go, 23-19.

The Fighting Scots nabbed their first lead of the afternoon, 26-23, with 7:46 left to play in the opening frame as Eric Demers connected on a trey.

The visitors claimed a 33-31 advantage with 2:21 remaining in the half on a fast-break layup by Owens.

After the home side tied the score at 33-33, JD Lyle (Middleton, Idaho) splashed his first collegiate three-pointer with 1:09 to go in the first period to push Eastern Nazarene ahead 36-33.

Gordon cut the deficit to 36-34 with 34 seconds on the clock as Garrison Duvivier converted one free throw.

The Lions clung to the two-point lead at the halftime intermission and sported a field-goal percentage of 41.7% to go with 4-of-13 shooting from beyond the arc. The Fighting Scots shot 39.3% from the floor and 27.3% from the perimeter.

Christian Lynch led all players with 10 points in the first half while Justin Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) and Owens chipped in with six points.

In a back-and-forth start to the second stanza, Eastern Nazarene grabbed control of the lead with 15:51 remaining in regulation as Owens tossed in a layup, 45-44.

The guests widened the gap to seven points, 64-57, on a lay-in by David Eddings (Endicott, N.Y.) with 7:49 to go.

Gordon utilized a 9-0 run to seize a 71-69 edge with less than 30 seconds left to play. The hosts pulled even on a layup and pulled ahead on two free throws by Duvivier.

After the Fighting Scots tacked on a free throw, Owens canned a clutch three-pointer with under two seconds to go in regulation to force overtime at 72-72.

Eastern Nazarene pulled ahead by one with 30 seconds left to play as Owens banked in a layup, 85-84.

Gordon responded with a basket by Noah Szilagyi with eight ticks on the clock to recapture a one-point lead, 86-85. The Fighting Scots added a free throw by Sam Johnson in the final second to increase the margin to 87-85.

The Lions shot 41% from the floor on the afternoon and 33.3% from three-point range. The home side finished with a field-goal percentage of 49.1% to go with 36.8% shooting from behind the arc.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene hits the road for a Tuesday night tilt at Salve Regina February 2.