Seahawks grounded at Gordon

WENHAM, MA— Senior forward David Dempsey (Wallingford, Conn.) recorded 24 points and junior guard Park Thomas (Scottsdale, Ariz.) added 18 points and six assists to lead the Fighting Scots to an 87-64 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) win over Salve Regina University tonight in Gordon's Bennett Athletic Center. The win improves Gordon to 18-6 overall, 13-4 in the CCC, while Salve drops to 12-12, 8-9 in league. 

The Scots shot 53 percent (28-53) from the floor on the night, scoring 26 points off turnovers and receiving 27 points from the bench en route to the commanding 23-point victory. Salve shot 40 percent (25-62) from the floor but was held to just 13 percent (2-16) behind the arc. 

Junior guard Luke Hamilton  (Mount Airy, N.C.), who finished with 14 points, opened scoring on the night with a three from sophomore center Hans Miersma (Whitinsville, Mass.) to start a 9-2 run which was capped off by a Dempsey dunk at 14:23. Over the next three and a half minutes, the Seahawks cut the deficit to just one and took their first and only lead at the 8:55 mark when junior guard Patrick Dinneen (Medfield, Mass.) buried a pair of free throws. Though the Scots took back the advantage and stretched it to 10 with three and change remaining in the period, Salve chipped away once again to make it a 35-30 game at the midway point. 

The Scots took control in the second behind standout efforts from David Dempsey and brother Jason Dempsey (So./Wallingford, Conn.), who combined for 25 of Gordon's 52 points in the half and highlighted the action with a block by Jason followed by a dunk at the other end by David at 14:00. With a sizeable lead and Salve in foul trouble after putting the Scots in the double-bonus at 5:15, Gordon iced the game from the stripe down the stretch with 13 points and received solid play from their bench to preserve the win. 

Jason Dempsey finished with nine points, nine rebounds, and two blocks, while junior guard Alex Carnes (Phoenix, Ariz.) chipped in eight points. 

Salve's effort was led by senior guard William Smiley (Saunderstown, R.I.) with 12 points, four assists, and four rebounds, freshman forward Brenden Fowler (No. Attleboro, Mass.) with 11 points, and junior forward Jeff Bielefeld (Littleton, Mass.) with 10 points, nine boards. 

The Scots host CCC foe Nichols in their final regular season game on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 3 p.m., while Salve returns to CCC play at home against Roger Williams on the same day also at 3 p.m.