Strong Second Half Sends Gordon Past Men's Basketball 86-70

Framingham, Mass. – The Framingham State University men's basketball team surrendered a 15-2 second half run to the Gordon College Fighting Scots as the Rams were defeated 86-70 this evening in non-conference action at the Athletic Center. 

THE BASICS:

- Score:  Gordon 86, Framingham State 70

- Records: Framingham State (1-9), Gordon College (10-1)

- Location: Athletic Center – Framingham, Mass.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Gordon opened the game with an 8-0 run over the first two minutes that included threes from junior Eric Demers and senior Jake Haar.
• The Rams pulled within two after back-to-back threes from senior Khaneil Bruce (Cambridge, Mass.).
• Gordon pushed the lead to back to seven on a bucket from senior Garrison Duvivier with 13 minutes remaining.
• Trailing 21-14 midway through the half, the Rams scored six straight on back-to-back threes from freshman Tomas Donoyan (Belmont, Mass.) and senior Manny Payton (Fitchburg, Mass.) to cut the deficit to one, 21-20.  Gordon answered with a three from Haar pushing the lead back to four.
• A 9-2 run by Gordon capped by a basket from Duvivier pushed the lead to eight for Gordon with five minutes remaining.
• The Rams closed the gap to three on a Payton three in the final minute of the half, but a layup from Josh Crutchfield would send Gordon to the half leading 39-34.
• The Rams closed the gap to one, 48-47, just under six minutes into the second half on a steal and dunk in transition from Bruce, but Gordon would mount a 15-2 run over the next six minutes to take a 63-49 lead.
• Gordon extended the lead in the second half to as many as 19 down the stretch before securing the 86-70 victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Payton paced the Rams with a team-high 17 points despite struggling from the floor in the game. Payton added three boards, four assists and a steal.
• Bruce finished the game with 14 points as he connected on six-of-nine from the floor including two-of-four from behind the arc. Bruce added four boards, three assists and a steal.
• Gordon saw four players score in double figures led by a game-high 20 points and 14 rebounds from Duvivier. Duvivier connected on eight-of-13 from the floor and added three steals and three blocks.
• Demers chipped in with 18 points and six boards, while Haar chipped in with 12 and Parker Omslaer added 10 and eight rebounds.
• Gordon connected on 50% of their offerings from the floor including 41% from behind the arc, while the Rams connected on 34% and just 30% from long range.

UP NEXT:

The Rams are back in action on December 29^th when they travel to John Jay for a non-conference game at 1 p.m., while the Fighting Scots host Eastern Nazarene on December 31^st at 1 p.m.