Three-Point Barrage Propels Men’s Hoops to 95-66 Win Over Gordon

QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College men's basketball team drilled 17 three-pointers en route to a 95-66 victory over Gordon in the 135th all-time meeting between the two teams Saturday afternoon at the Lahue Physical Education Center.

The Lions improve to 10-8 on the season with their sixth-straight win while the Fighting Scots fall to 8-9 overall.

Garrett Crandell (Bristol, Tenn.) poured in a game-high 24 points and dished out five assists. Josh Rice (Hanson, Mass.) finished with 23 points on 7-for-9 shooting from three-point range. Luke Dagley (Weymouth, Mass.) drained 4-of-6 from downtown to net 14 points off the bench. Noah Cheney (Bend, Ore.) chipped in with 11 points while Ricky Shearman (Acworth, Ga.) registered eight boards, seven assists, and three points.

The hosts strung together an early 11-0 run to establish a 16-point margin with 12:27 left to play in the first half, 25-9, highlighted by a pair of back-to-back treys from Rice.

Eastern Nazarene pushed its lead to 35-17 with 6:11 to go in the opening period as Dagley canned a three-pointer from the right corner.

The Lions capped off the first frame with back-to-back threes by Rice and Dagley to carry a 50-27 advantage into the halftime intermission.

At the break, Eastern Nazarene sported an efficient field-goal percentage of 63.3% while connecting on an impressive 66.7% from beyond the arc with 10 three-pointers. Gordon shot 26.5% from the floor while managing just three treys on 20 attempts in the opening frame.

Rice splashed six three-pointers to notch 18 first-half points while Crandell tallied 13 points and Dagley added 11 points.

The home side stretched its lead to 30 with 15:21 to go in regulation on a fast-break layup by Rice, 66-36.

A near-dunk by Crandell widened Eastern Nazarene's cushion to 77-40 with 12:57 on the clock, its largest lead of the day.

The Lions shot 55.4% from the floor and finished with a season-high 17 three-pointers on 30 chances on the afternoon. The Fighting Scots concluded the contest with a field-goal percentage of 35.5% while shooting 20% from the perimeter.

Parker Omslaer scored a team-high 17 points for Gordon while hauling in eight rebounds. Avelino Damoura contributed with 14 points while Josh Crutchfield notched eight points.

Looking ahead, Eastern Nazarene returns to conference competition January 29 with a midweek matchup against Mitchell.