ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The offense was working for the Union College men's basketball team on Saturday, but the defense was not up to the task as the Dutchmen fell to Gordon College by a 105-96 score in the consolation game of the Mike Daley Memorial Tournament, held at Nazareth College's Kidern Gymnasium.
Five players scored in double figures for Union (0-2) on the afternoon, led by senior Mike Manley with 25 points to go with four assists, two rebounds and two steals. Sophomore Aidan McGee had a big game off the bench, hitting 8-of-11 attempts from the field on the way to 19 points in 23 minutes, followed by senior Brian Noone with 15 points (on 6-of-9 shooting) and a team-best six rebounds. Juniors Luke McGarrity (12 points) and Edward Baptiste (10 points) both contributed offensively as well for Union.
Four players broke double figures for Gordon (1-2), with Michael Makiej leading all scorers with 35 points on 12-of-16 shooting and eight rebounds. Garrett Sattazahn added 25 points and Bryce Smith chipped in 19 points and six assists for the Fighting Scots.
Gordon jumped out to an early 9-2 lead and used an 11-2 run to build up its first double-digit lead of the game at 20-8 5:27 into the game. Gordon led by as many as 21 points in the opening half with 8:31 remaining, but Manley scored 10 straight Union points to trim the lead to 14 (42-28) with 5:04 left. The Dutchmen continued to chip away at the lead and got within nine in the final minute thanks to a three from senior Connor Cepiel.
The Fighting Scots shot 55.9 percent (19 of 34) from the field and 7-of-15 from beyond the arc in the opening frame, while the Dutchmen shot 17 of 39 (43.6 percent) over the first 20 minutes.
Down by 14 at 63-49, Union had its best stretch of the game with a 13-2 run that closed the deficit to one possession at 65-62 with 12:35 on the clock. McGarrity netted a team-best five points and Noone chipped in four during the run, which spanned over three minutes. The Dutchmen got within three on three more occasions, the last coming after a McGee jumper made the score 72-69 with 9:58 left, but Gordon followed with six straight points and Union never got closer than six the rest of the way.
Gordon continued its hot shooting in the second half, finishing the game at 54.7 percent (35 of 64) from the field and 53.6 percent (15 of 28) from downtown, while also hitting 21-of-24 free-throw attempts. Union shot an even 60.0 percent (18 of 30) in the second half to finish the game at 50.7 percent (35 of 69) from the field.
Union will next take to the court on Monday, when the team heads to Hudson Valley Community College to take on the University at Albany beginning at 7 p.m.
