Second Half Run Lifts Gordon Over Western New England, 92-80

Silva (18 points) & Pettway (17) lead Golden Bears

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (December 3, 2016) – The Western New England University men's basketball team fell victim to an 11-0 run midway through the second half as Gordon College rallied to earn a 92-80 victory this afternoon in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.  

Top Performers
• Senior forward Daniel Silva (Seekonk, Mass.) led the Golden Bears offensively with a team-high 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, including 4-of-7 from three-point range.
• Sophomore guard Mikey Pettway (Bridgeport, Conn.) added 17 points, nine of which came at the free throw line, four assists and two rebounds.
• Freshman forward Mayo Aina (Providence, R.I.) finished with ten points and six boards.

• Gordon sophomore forward Garrisson Duvivier (Brockton, Mass.) led the Fighting Scots with 23 points on 9-of-21 shooting from the field and 5-of-7 from the free throw line to go with a game-high 18 rebounds, four blocks and one steal.
• Sophomore guard Eric Demers (Acushnet, Mass.) also recorded 23 points, while senior center Sam Johnson (Chatham, Mass.) posted a double-double with 14 points and 11 boards.

Game Review
• Silva fueled the Western New England offense in the first half with 15 of the team's 40 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-4 from three-point range. He opened the scoring with a triple 2:26 into the contest and scored five straight points midway through the half as part of a 9-0 run as the Golden Bears took a 25-20 lead.   
• Western New England held its largest advantage of seven (29-22) following a layup by Silva with 6:06 on the clock, and the Golden Bears led by the same margin (38-31) after freshman Tim Reilly (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) connected from long range with 1:36 remaining in the opening half.  
• Gordon posted a 7-2 run the rest of the way, cutting its deficit to two (40-38) heading into the break.
• Pettway scored four straight points as Western New England pushed its lead back to six early in the second half, but the Fighting Scots answered with a 7-0 run to reclaim a 45-44 edge at the 16:45 mark.
• Aina made two free throws 25 seconds later as the Golden Bears pulled back ahead, and Pettway converted a traditional three-point play with 13:41 remaining as Western New England extended its lead back to seven (57-50).
• Trailing by six (62-56) with 10:31 on the clock, Gordon posted an 11-0 run over the next two minutes to open up a 67-62 lead. Demers fueled the run with six points, and junior Jaren Yang (San Francisco, Calif.) capped it with a three-pointer with 8:20 left.
• The Fighting Scots never trailed after the decisive run, as two free throws by Demers with just under five minutes remaining made it an eight-point game (77-69). The visitors eventually extended their lead to 12 (82-70) before winning by the same margin.

Notes
• Western New England shot 39.1% (27-of-69) from the field, while the Fighting Scots posted a 43.8% (28-of-64) clip, including 50% (15-of-30) in the second half.
• The Fighting Scots held a 49-32 rebounding advantage, led by Duvivier and Johnson, who combined for 29.
• Gordon got to the free throw line 35 times and sank 29 attempts (82.9%).
• Western New England's bench scored 43 points. Aina led the way with ten, while junior guard Nelson Zayas (Springfield, Mass.) and freshman guard Mike McGuire (Garden City, N.Y.) added nine and eight, respectively.

Up Next
Western New England (1-5, 0-2 CCC) hosts Nichols on Tuesday night, while Gordon (4-2, 2-0 CCC) travels to Curry.