(Courtesy of Gordon Sports Information)
WENHAM, Mass. – Sophomore guard Aaron Trigg (Overland Park, Kans.) scored a career-high 32 points on 10-of-11 shooting as Gordon defeated Wentworth Institute of Technology, 81-67, this afternoon in The Commonwealth Coast Conference play this afternoon in the Bennett Center on the campus of Gordon College.
Trigg’s 25 second-half points helped the Fighting Scots (10-2, 2-0) erase a five point half-time deficit and outscore the Leopards (6-5, 0-1) 50-31 in the second frame.
The Scots started slow in the first half as Wentworth powered its way to a 10-0 lead through the first five minutes as the 10-point run was capped by a lay-up from junior guard Todd Doyle (Mystic, Conn.). With 14:50 to play, the Scots finally got on the board as sophomore center Jeff Derr (Barrington, Ill.) hit a long-range two. The Scots continued to climb back in but still trailed 20-11 halfway through the period as Wentworth sophomore forward Matt Abbott (Falmouth, Mass.) made a lay-up. Sophomore forward Shane West (Saco, Maine) made it a ten point contest, 25-15 with 7:33 to play but the Scots used a 9-2 run to get back in it, 27-24, with 4:31 to play in the half.
A three-point play from West put the visitors back up six, but Trigg hit a three pointer and a lay-up in transition to cut the lead to one, 30-29 with 3:21 before intermission. An evenly played contest down the stretch in the first half saw the Leopards head to the break with a five point lead 36-31.
West opened the second half with a post-up jumper to give the visitors a seven point cushion, 38-31, but a three from Gordon senior guard Jon Marstaller (Naples, Maine) followed by a Trigg lay-up and three-pointer gave the Scots their first lead of the afternoon, 39-38, with 17:28 to play in the contest.
With the score knotted at 46-46 following a Doyle three pointer, Trigg converted a three-point play but Matt Abbott retaliated for the visitors to keep it a one point contest, 49-48, with 11:58 showing on the clock. With 9:36 to play in the game, the Scots began to pull away as senior guard Justin Kaufman (Redding, Conn.) drained a three, followed by a Marstaller lay-in and a Trigg free throw gave the Scots an eight point advantage, 60-52. The Leopards would cut the lead to eight on a lay-up from West as senior guard Sherrad Prezzie-Blue (Norwalk, Conn.) fed the ball inside for his fifth assist. The eight point margin would be as close as the visitors would come as Gordon pulled away with foul-shooting over the final two minutes and held on for the 81-67 victory.
Trigg tallied a quiet 32 points as he hit four three pointers and eight free-throws to go along with his four assists. Marstaller chipped in 13 points, three blocks, and four steals while sophomore guard Brady Bajema (Whitinsville, Mass.) also had 13 points. West led the Leopards with 17 points while Doyle added 16 points and five assists. The Scots defense kept Prezzie-Blue quiet as he managed just three points while dishing out five assists.
Gordon extends home win streak in regular-season conference games to 20 with the win and will battle Anna Maria College in the Bennett Center at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday (Jan. 15). That same night, the Leopards are also in TCCC action, hosting Eastern Nazarene at 7:30 p.m.
Official Basketball Box Score Wentworth vs Gordon 01/12/08 3:00 pm at Wenham, Mass. (Bennett Center) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: Wentworth 6-5, 0-1 TCCC TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 42 Weonard Bynes....... f 3-4 0-0 2-2 1 2 3 5 8 0 2 0 0 16 52 Shane West.......... f 6-9 0-0 5-7 0 4 4 5 17 0 2 0 0 28 14 Todd Doyle.......... g 5-9 2-4 4-6 1 2 3 2 16 5 0 0 1 36 20 Brad Bryant......... g 1-5 1-3 2-2 2 1 3 2 5 5 1 0 1 29 44 Sherrad Prezzie-Blue g 1-9 1-5 0-0 1 1 2 3 3 5 6 0 3 38 11 Kevin Wentworth..... 0-3 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 8 12 Ed Bolton........... 1-2 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 2 3 1 1 0 0 10 23 Matt Abbott......... 3-5 0-0 3-4 2 7 9 2 9 0 2 1 0 21 24 Gil Ward............ 3-4 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 3 6 2 0 1 0 11 30 Keenan Burke-Pitts.. 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0+ 32 Pat LaCasse......... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 3 TEAM................ 2 2 3 Totals.............. 23-50 5-14 16-21 10 18 28 26 67 19 20 2 5 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-26 50.0% 2nd Half: 10-24 41.7% Game: 46.0% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-7 42.9% 2nd Half: 2-7 28.6% Game: 35.7% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 7-9 77.8% 2nd Half: 9-12 75.0% Game: 76.2% 3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: Gordon 10-2, 2-0 TCCC TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 13 Jon Marstaller...... f 5-8 1-1 2-4 0 4 4 2 13 2 1 3 4 34 31 Michael Schnackenber f 3-8 0-0 2-2 1 3 4 4 8 1 4 0 1 29 03 Ben Gaskill......... c 0-1 0-0 0-3 0 3 3 5 0 0 2 0 0 16 12 Aaron Trigg......... g 10-11 4-5 8-9 0 4 4 0 32 4 1 1 0 39 24 Justin Kaufman...... g 2-7 1-4 4-4 1 1 2 0 9 7 3 0 2 40 04 Brady Bajema........ 4-7 1-3 4-4 0 3 3 2 13 1 2 0 0 28 32 Jeff Derr........... 1-2 0-0 3-4 1 0 1 1 5 0 1 0 0 8 33 Tim MacDonnell...... 0-1 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 6 TEAM................ 2 1 3 Totals.............. 25-45 7-13 24-32 5 19 24 14 81 15 14 4 9 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-21 47.6% 2nd Half: 15-24 62.5% Game: 55.6% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-4 25.0% 2nd Half: 6-9 66.7% Game: 53.8% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 10-12 83.3% 2nd Half: 14-20 70.0% Game: 75.0% 5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Joe Smoot, James Grady, James Reinerston Technical fouls: Wentworth-None. Gordon-None. Attendance: 495 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Wentworth..................... 36 31 - 67 Gordon........................ 31 50 - 81 Points in the paint-WIT 30,GC 32. Points off turnovers-WIT 14,GC 17. 2nd chance points-WIT 15,GC 7. Fast break points-WIT 2,GC 0. Bench points-WIT 18,GC 19. Score tied-2 times. Lead changed-5 times. Last FG-WIT 2nd-00:03, GC 2nd-02:08. Largest lead-WIT by 11 1st-14:31, GC by 16 2nd-00:40.