Haar from afar helps Gordon against Salve Regina, 80-71

WENHAM, Mass.—Gordon men's basketball finished off a tough week with an 80-71 victory over visiting Salve Regina on Saturday afternoon at the Bennett Center. Sophomore Jake Haar (Huntington Beach, Calif.) hit seven threes for the second straight game to warm the Fighting Scots amidst icy conditions on the North Shore.

Gordon improves to 7-6 on the season and 4-2 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference. The Fighting Scots snapped a four-game losing streak and won for the first time in a month's time. Gordon dropped its first conference games of the season this season by two combined points with both games coming down to a play at the buzzer.

Salve Regina falls to 4-8 overall and 2-4 in the CCC.

After Haar opened the game with a wide open triple, Gordon was slow to find rhythm on the offensive end. Salve didn't have much better luck, but held a 14-12 lead with under nine to go in the stanza when Isaiah Bowman (Roxbury, Mass.) hit a three on a nice kick out by Kevin Mannix (Barrington, R.I.).

The Seahawks pushed its lead by another point before Gordon was able to make a run and take a 35-27 lead into the break. Haar was a major reason for the advantage, hitting four of his seven attempts from behind the arch in the opening half.

Salve Regina was never able to get closer than seven points in the second half, doing so at the 16:16 mark. However, Haar hit two daggers in a row to extend Gordon's lead back to 13 points and the Fighting Scots sailed along with a comfortable edge from there.

The Seahawks were led by Nicholas Bates (Danvers, Mass.) with 17 points and 12 rebounds, after coming in as one of the best double-double artists in the conference. Rodney Morton (Malden, Mass.) finished with 15, while Connor Costello (Southborough, Mass.) pitched in 13 points and a team-high four assists.

Haar led all players with 21 points and continues to lead the league in three-point shooting. Sam Johnson (Chatham, Mass.) was back to his double-double ways with 15 points and 19 caroms, while Jaren Yang (San Francisco, Calif.) had another solid game with 12 points and eight assists. Jake Hart (Allendale, N.J.) found his way back into the starting lineup and had his first double-digit scoring performance with 10.

Gordon held a firm 22-rebound advantage for the game at 57-35, set up by Johnson's nose for the ball on the offensive glass.

Salve Regina hosts second-place Endicott on Wednesday evening, while Gordon travels to UNE for another conference showdown on the same night at 7 p.m.