WENHAM, Mass. – Sophomore Eric Demers (Acushnet, Mass.) scored 26 points to propel the Gordon College men's basketball team over Wentworth Institute of Technology, 83-62, Tuesday evening in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action inside the Bennett Center.
With the win, Gordon climbs the CCC standings at 9-4, and improves to 13-7 overall. Wentworth drops to 8-5 against league opponents and shifts to 13-7 this season.
Senior Cesar Fulcar (Watertown, Mass.) made the opening basket to start the conference tilt, and used two more points and a layup from classmate Jason Ganley (Northbridge, Mass.) to gain a 6-5 lead on the hosts early in the game. The Fighting Scots then scored back-to-back three pointers from senior Jaren Yang (San Francisco, Calif.) and turned a 10-3 run to lead Wentworth 15-9 with 13:23 left in the first half. A layup from senior Michael Boaheng (Worcester, Mass.) tied the score 17-17 before Wentworth regained the lead with back-to-back layups from sophomores Matt Vartanian (Salem, N.H.) and Stephen Azums (Hyde Park, Mass.). Demers responded with a deep trey to pull Gordon within one, 21-20, before freshman Parker Omslaer (Jackson, N.J.) knocked two down at the line for the lead swap, 22-21. After junior Zach Bergeon (Litchfield, N.H.) knocked one down at the line to make the score 22-22, Gordon used a 6-0 spurt to force a Wentworth timeout, leading 28-22 with 4:13 left in the half. The Fighting Scots carried momentum into the halftime buzzer, closing the first stanza on a 12-3 run – including six points from junior Jake Haar (Huntington Beach, Calif.) – to hold a 40-25 lead.
Gordon shot 52.9% in the second half and stayed at the forefront for the game's remainder. With 9:46 left in regulation, junior Garrisson Duvivier (Brockton, Mass.) slammed a dunk for the home squad, giving Gordon its largest lead of the game, 68-41. Azums led all scorers in the second half with 13 points, but the deficit proved to be too big as Gordon walked away with the 21-point victory.
Azums scored 19 points as the only Leopard to reach double figures, and added a team-high six rebounds in the effort. Fulcar finished with nine points, four rebounds, and two assists, while Ganley registered eight points overall.
Demers went a perfect 7-for-7 at the free throw line and scored nine of his game-high 26 points from behind the arc while adding four rebounds and two assists. Duvivier rounded out double digit scoring for the hosts with 15 points, and led all players on the glass with nine boards.
Wentworth returns home on Saturday when it hosts Roger Williams at 3:00 p.m.
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