Gordon Outlasts Men's Basketball In Season Opener

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

WENHAM, Mass. – The Elms College men's basketball squad fell to host Gordon College, 83-69, in the 2016-17 season opener at Bennett Athletic Center Tuesday night. The Blazers move to 0-1 on the season, while Gordon improves to 1-0 overall.

The Blazers cracked the scoreboard behind back-to-back three-pointers from senior Symon Smith (Oklahoma City, Okla.) and junior Chris Connolly (Westbrook, Maine), followed by a bucket from Smith at the 17:57 mark to give Elms an 8-7 lead. The Scot raced ahead with a 10-point run to build a 17-8 lead. A pair of buckets from Smith trimmed the gap to 18-15 at the 12:02 mark. Leading 20-17, the Scot padded the advantage as three-pointers from sophomore Jake Haar (Huntington Beach, Calif.) sandwiched six straight points from sophomore Garrison Duvivier (Brockton, Mass.) to make it a 32-19. Haar knocked down a back-to-back treys with six minutes remaining in the first half to extend the lead to 40-22. The Blazers closed the opening stanza on a high note, orchestrating a 13-5 run over the final five minutes, featuring 10 points from senior Conny Ihearahu (Largo, Md.), to put the score at 45-35 at the break. 

The Blazers connected on long-range shots from junior Keeshaun King (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Smith to close the Gordon gap to 50-44 with 18:28 remaining. Elms freshman DeAngelo Cousar (Bowie, Md.) buried a three-pointer at the 17:24 mark to put the Blazers within one possession, 52-49. Gordon regained an advantage with a 10-0 run over the next three minutes to take a 62-49 lead. The sided exchanged baskets over the next six minutes to make it a 70-60 game with 7:33 on the clock. A layup from Ihearahu at the 5:51 mark cut the deficit to single digits, 72-63. Duvivier tallied four points over the next two minutes to help the Scot maintain a 78-65 lead. The Blazers received late buckets from senior Trifon Bish (St. Catherine, Jamaica) as Elms fell short of Gordon, 83-69.

The Blazers offense was powered by 20-point efforts by Smith and Ihearahu. Ihearahu grabbed a team-high six rebounds with a game-high five steals, while Smith added four rebounds and three assists. Cousar netted 13 points and five rebounds off the bench in his collegiate debut. Bish added 10 points in the loss.

The Scots had four scorers in double figures, led by 23 points and nine rebounds from Duvivier. Senior Sam Johnson (Chatham, Mass.) notched a double-double effort with a game-high 22 rebounds and 17 points. Haar recorded 18 points, connecting on six three-pointers, while junior Jaren Yang (San Francisco, Calif.) contributed 10 points and three rebounds.

The Scots controlled the rebounding column (52-30) and points in the paint (52-20) during the contest. Elms connected on 35.5% (22-of-62) from the floor, including 35.7% (10-of-28) from three-point range, and 75% (15-of-20) from the foul line. Gordon shot 50% (35-of-70) from the field, 30% (6-of-20) from three-point, and 58.3% (7-of-12) from the free throw stripe.

The Blazers will return to the court when they travel to Plattsburgh State for the Cardinal Roundball Classic Saturday and Sunday. Gordon will face SUNY-Potsdam in a road trip Saturday at 6:00 p.m.

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