WENHAM, Mass. (December 2, 2015) - The Gordon College men's basketball team utilized a 12-4 run over the final 4:05 of regulation to pull away from Western New England University and earn a 73-62 victory this evening in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) opener for both teams at the Bennett Center.
 
The Golden Bears, who trailed by six (59-53) following a three-pointer by Gordon freshman guard Jake Haar (Huntington Beach, Calif.) with 7:37 left in the game, pulled back to within three (61-58) after junior guard Mike Gelineau (Waltham, Mass.) knocked down one of two free throws with 4:20 on the clock. That would be as close as they got, however, as a Jaren Yang (San Francisco, Calif.) trey fifteen seconds later sparked a 7-0 Gordon run that allowed the home team to open up a ten-point (68-58) lead with 2:19 remaining.
 
Gelineau led Western New England with a team-high 18 points to go with six rebounds, while freshman guard Mikey Pettway (Bridgeport, Conn.) matched his season-high with 16 points and added three assists. Seniors Zack Askew (Middletown, Conn.) and Luis Agrait (South Hadley, Mass.) combined for 15 points and ten rebounds, and freshman Tyler Johnson (Vernon, Conn.) chipped in with four points off the bench.
 
Yang and freshman guard Eric Demers (Wareham, Mass.) powered the Gordon offense with 17 points apiece, while junior Sam Johnson (Chatham, Mass.) and freshman Garrisson Duvivier (Brockton, Mass.) each posted double-doubles, combining for 24 points and 25 rebounds.
 
Trailing 21-13 with 9:10 remaining in the first half, Pettway led the Golden Bears on an 11-0 run over the next four minutes, scoring six points during the stretch as the visitors claimed a 24-21 advantage. Western New England held its largest lead (30-24) following a three-pointer by senior forward Don Stephens (West Palm Beach, Fla.) with five minutes left in the half, and still led by five (37-32) after Gelineau connected from beyond the arc with 1:11 on the clock. Gordon closed the half on a 6-0 run, however, capped by a Yang triple with four seconds left, as the Fighting Scots took a 38-37 lead into the locker room.
 
The Golden Bears shot 50 percent (13-of-26) in the first half, but cooled off over the final 20 minutes with a 9-of-35 (25.7%) clip in the second half. Gordon made 45.6 percent (26-of-57) of its shots for the game, finishing with 13 field goals in each half.
 
The Fighting Scots stretched their advantage to six early in the second half, and maintained a slim lead until Johnson scored four straight points to tie the score at 49-49 with 14:29 left in the contest. Gordon regained a one-point edge less than a minute later, and the score remained close until the home team pulled away late to put the game out of reach.
 
After playing its first five contests of the season on the road, Western New England (1-4, 0-1 CCC) finally returns to the Alumni Healthful Living Center on Saturday to open a five-game homestand against the University of New England at 3 p.m. Gordon (3-2, 1-0 CCC) will also be in action on Saturday at Roger Williams University.