BANGOR – Gordon College’s men’s basketball team hasn’t exactly been blessed with much height the last few years.

However, the Fighting Scots have traditionally fielded a blend of quick guards.

The Wareham, Mass.-based institution got the best of both worlds Tuesday night, as 6-foot-7 inch forward Greg Walker poured in 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds as Gordon spoiled Husson University’s home opener with an 88-73 victory at Newman Gymnasium.

Coach Michael Schauer’s Scots (5-0) had distinctive advantages in nearly every key aspect of the game, as they shot 57 percent (34-59) from the floor compared to 41 percent (25-61) for the Eagles and outrebounded Husson 38-22.

“We’ve never been a good rebounding team and we’ve never been very big, so this year’s been a little different where we have to emphasize that,” said Schauer.

Gordon of the Commonwealth Coast Conference struggled at times with Husson’s quickness, and the Eagles were able to generate a number of fast-break points.

The problem was, the Scots’ penetration and back-door cuts were too much for the Eagles.

“In the first half, the backdoor cuts were an issue, we talked about that at halftime and did a better job of that in the second half, but we gave up too much penetration,” said Husson coach Warren Caruso, whose club dips to 0-3.

The Eagles stayed within striking distance of the speedy Scots, trailing only 40-36 at halftime, but Gordon would stretch that lead to 69-58 near the halfway point of the second half.

Aaron Trigg, a junior guard, would torch Husson for 13 second-half points with a number of his baskets coming on baseline drives.

“We just had too many breakdowns, we gave up too much baseline penetration,” said Caruso.

“The bottom line is we’ve got to defend to win. We didn’t defend either half.”

The Eagles got as close as six on Jay Urhin’s breakaway dunk with 7:18 to play, but Gordon embarked on a 7-3 run over the next four-plus minutes, with Brady Bajema’s 3-pointer from the right wing putting the nail in the coffin.

“The game kind of went from 6 [points] to 11 there for a long time, fortunately we were able to make some plays,” said Schauer.

Once it got down by double digits, Husson switched from a straight man-to-man to a man-to-man press, which at times frustrated the Scots, but Gordon was able to hit key shots down the stretch.

“I think we struggled making shots, I think we got some good looks at times,” said Caruso. “We’ve got to find a win, we’ve got to get a W.”

At times, the Eagles did struggle on the offensive end, failing to convert on several open looks while they only converted on 62 percent of their free throws compared to 88 percent for Gordon.

The teams went back and forth early in the first half, but the Fighting Scots never trailed after Trigg’s one-handed runner in the lane near the midway point of the first half.

Trigg finished with 21 points and Bajema 15 for Gordon.

Brock Bradford had a game-high 24 points for the Eagles. Scott Kissinger and Matt McKenzie were the only other Eagles in double figures with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

rmclaughlin@bangordailynews.net

990-8193

FIGHTING SCOTS 88, EAGLES 73

Gordon (5-0) Husson (0-3)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Gaskill 4 5 0 0 8 Meehan 0 2 2

Bajema 6 12 2 2 15 Bradford 9 19 4 5 24

Trigg 9 19 1 1 21 Kissinger 5 12 2 2 13

Walker 10 14 3 3 23 McKenzie 3 10 12

Bentson 1 3 2 2 4 Figueroa 2 6

Harden 1 2 2 2 5 Perras 1 3 3

Flight 1 1 0 0 2 Hodges 1 2 3

Derr 1 2 4 6 6 Ockimey 1 4 2 4

MacDnnell 0 0 2 2 2 Kane 0 0 0

Himottu 1 1 0 0 2 Uhrin 2 7 4

Cmmngs 0 0 0 0

McMorin 0 0 0 0

Puls 1 1 0 2

Totals 34 59 16 18 88 25 62 18 28 73

Gordon 40 88

Husson 36 73

3-pt. goals – Gordon (4-14): Trigg 2-6, Bajema 1-5, Harden 1-1, Bentson 0-2; Husson (5-16): Bradford 2-6, Figueroa 2-2, Kissinger 1-4, Perras 0-1, Uhrin 0-3

Attendance: 300 (est.)