DUDLEY, Mass – Led by 37 points and nine assists from junior guard Brady Bajema, the Gordon College men's basketball team defeated Nichols College, 94-85, Saturday afternoon in a The Commonwealth Coast Conference game. The game, which was slow to start out, quickly turned into a shot parade as the Fighting Scots (15-5, 6-3 TCCC) hit for 66.7% of their shots from beyond the arc in the second half. First year forward Pete Atkins (Gainesville, Fla.) led the way for the Bison, as he finished off the game with a career-high 27 points and eight rebounds.

The first half was a tight contest between the two teams as they traded the lead nine times. The Bison took the lead first with a three-pointer by Atkins one and a half minutes into the game, but went down quickly and were held scoreless for three and a half minutes. With 9:37 on the clock Nichols took back the lead 17-16. The lead then continued to flip flop until four minutes left when Gordon took the lead for good. Going into the half the Fighting Scots were up 37-33 led by Brady Bajema's 14 points including four three-pointers.

The second half was a continuance of the three-point barrage by Bajema as he added in five more treys on 5-for-7 shooting. Down by as many as 20 with 8:54 left in the game the Bison did rallied back.

Senior captain Jeff Lindgren (Sturbridge, Mass.) scored four straight points to give some life back into the Nichols offense. The Bison continued to pull back and went to their big guys down low, Atkins and junior forward Ryan Wilcox (West Granby, Conn.). The pair combined for 25 second-half points to bring the Bison all the way back within six with just under two minutes to go.

The Fighting Scots would not let go of their lead though as junior guard Aaron Trigg and Bajema proceeded to hit seven of their eight free throw shots in the final two minutes for the final, 94-85. .

Atkins also added a steal and an assist. Wilcox chipped in with 16 points and three rebounds, as Lindgren and junior guard Bryan Riley (West Boylston, Mass.) both broke double digits in points with 15 and 14 respectively.

The Fighting Scots were led by Bajema's 37 points on 11-for-18 shooting and 9-for-13 behind the arc. He also had three rebounds and a block. Trigg had 14 points and also added in nine assists, three rebounds and two steals. Sophomore forward Greg Walker also filled up the stat sheet with 14 points, two rebounds a block, an assist and a steal.  

The Fighting Scots outrebounded Nichols slightly, 35-32 and forced three more turnovers. Overall for the game the Fighting Scots shot 48.3% including 57.1% from beyond the arc, while Nichols shot 45.5% and 35.7% from three-point range.

The Bison play their final regular-season home game Tuesday at 8 p.m. against Wentworth, while the Scots host Colby-Sawyer Tuesday at 8 p.m.

Box Score