Men’s Hoops Clipped in Overtime at Gordon, 85-82

WENHAM, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College men's basketball team absorbed an 85-82 overtime-loss at Gordon in the first Commonwealth Coast Conference game of the season Wednesday evening.

The Lions drop to 3-3 on the year and 0-1 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference with the result. The Fighting Scots improve to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in league action with the win.

Corey Doran (Fairfield, Calif.) scored a team-high 18 points and grabbed six boards in the contest. Josh Rice (Hanson, Mass.) finished with 16 points on 4-for-4 shooting from the perimeter. Christian Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) notched 14 points, seven assists, three rebounds, and two blocks. Anthony Petrilli (Santa Clarita, Calif.) posted 10 points, six assists, and five boards in the game. David Eddings (Endicott, N.Y.) and Noah Cheney (Bend, Ore.) both chipped in with 10 points each.

The home side chalked up the first five points to seize a 5-0 edge early.

The visitors kept the score close throughout the first half and pulled even with under one minute remaining on a bucket by Patrick Michel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.).

After Gordon's Jaren Yang tossed in a layup, Cheney knocked down two free throws with four seconds on the clock to send the two teams into the halftime intermission deadlocked at 29-29.

Eastern Nazarene captured its first lead of the game in the early stages of the second stanza as Petrilli connected on a jumper, 31-29.

The Lions widened the gap to six points with 6:50 left to play in regulation, 59-53, on a three-pointer by Cheney.

The Fighting Scots utilized a 9-0 run to erase the deficit and claim a three-point edge, 62-59, with less than five minutes to go in the half.

Eddings powered in a layup with 1:55 on the clock to give the guests a 69-68 lead.

Gordon responded with a jumper by Yang and two free throws by Garrisson Duvivier in the final minute of regulation to snag a 72-69 advantage.

Eastern Nazarene tied the game at 72-72 as Rice splashed a clutch trey late in regulation to send the game into overtime.

The Fighting Scots fended off the Lions in the overtime session to narrowly escape with a hard-fought conference win.

Duvivier paced the home team with a game-high 30 points and 14 rebounds while Sam Johnson registered a double-double with 11 points and 23 boards.

The Lions shot 51.7% from the floor and 53.3% from beyond the arc on the night. The Fighting Scots finished with a field-goal percentage of 40.5% to go with 35.7% shooting from three-point range in the game.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene returns home to square off against nationally-ranked Endicott December 3.