BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore Hans Miersma (Whitinsville, Mass.) was a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor, scoring 15 points, grabbing 15 rebounds, and blocking seven shots as the Gordon men's basketball team defeated Wentworth, 71-58, in Commonwealth Coast Conference action at Tansey Gymnasium.
With the win Gordon runs its win streak to five and improves to 17-6 overall and 12-4 in CCC play. Wentworth dropped its second straight to stand at 15-9 (11-6).
The opening 1:37 saw a pair of lead changes before the Fighting Scots went on a 12-0 run, capped off by a senior David Dempsey (Wallingford, Conn.) basket, to take a 15-4 lead with 14:39 remaining. After a senior Dialon Wilson (Houston, Texas) 3-pointer cut the lead to eight, Gordon scored the next five points to take a 13-point lead.
The Leopards trimmed the 10 with 10:37 left when sophomore John-Michael Fragnoli (Scotia, N.Y.) hit two free throws, however, Miersma scored the next five points to give the visitors a 15-point edge. Dempsey hit one of two free throws with 6:49 left to give Gordon its largest lead of the half at 26-10.
Wentworth was able to cut the lead to 11 when junior Derek Mayo (Casco, Maine) hit one of two free throws with 1:26 left, but sophomore Jason Dempsey (Wallingford, Conn.) drained a pair from the charity stripe with 37 seconds left to give the Fighting Scots a 13-point edge (35-22) at the break. The Fighting Scots shot 57.1 percent from the floor and held Wentworth to just 25 percent.
The hosts scored six of the first eight points in the second half and cut the lead to nine when Mayo hit a jumper with just over 16:00 left. After Gordon had built the lead back to 12, seniors Corey Therriault (Auburn, Maine) and Colin Johnson (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) scored consecutive baskets to make it an eight-point game with 13:45 left.
Gordon would increase its lead to as many as 11 with 6:21 left before five straight points from Johnson cut the margin to six with 4:36 to play. The Fighting Scots used a 10-1 spurt to extend their lead to 15 late and would take the 13-point victory.
In addition to Miersma, three other Gordon players scored in double figures as Dempsey and junior Alex Carnes (Phoenix, Ariz.) scored 14 apiece and junior Park Thomas (Scottsdale, Ariz.) added 10. The Fighting Scots shot 56.1 percent from the floor and held a 40-23 rebounding edge.
Johnson led the Leopards with 14 points, while Mayo and junior Scott Moran (Orange, Conn.) had 10 points apiece. Mayo and Wilson each had four assists.
Gordon hosts Salve Regina on Thursday night, while Wentworth closes out the regular season at Curry on Saturday.
