DUDLEY, Mass. – Led by 21 points from senior guard Billy Karis (Potsdam, N.Y.), the Connecticut College men's basketball team fought off a late surge from Nichols College to defeat the host Bison, 81-79, Thursday evening.

Junior guard Shavar Bernier (Dover, N.H.) added 17 points, while sophomore Dean Lampe (Hamilton, Mass) chipped in with 10 points and four rebounds off the bench. Senior Ulises Veras (Lawrence, Mass.) posted eight rebounds to go with nine points.

Junior guard Chris Paquin (Barre, Mass.), who poured in 20 points and picked up five rebounds, led four Nichols players in double-digits, including sophomore center Chris Smith (Moosup, Conn.), who snagged seven rebounds to go with 11 points. Senior Jeff Lindgren (Sturbridge, Mass.) finished with 11 points, including a perfect 6-for-6 effort at the line. First-year forward Pete Atkins (Gainesville, Fla.) added 13 points and four rebounds off the bench.

The Camels (4-3) led by 14 at the half and by as many as 20 early in the second stanza before Nichols tied the game with four minutes left. A late three-pointer from Scott Seidor (Bloomfield, Conn.) put Connecticut College up by three before Paquin tipped in a rebound with 17 seconds left to cut the margin to one at 80-79. Lampe hit a free throw to edge the Camels ahead by two with 10 seconds remaining. Ryan Wilcox (West Granby, Conn.) snagged the rebound for the Bison, but a last-second three-pointer from Lindgren just missed.

Less than five minutes into the second half, the Camels were up by 20, but in the next three minutes, Nichols went on a 16-2 run, capped by a Paquin jumper at 11:46. The Camels climbed back in and led by as many as 10 before Nichols again chipped away to tie it at 75-75 with four minutes remaining.

Connecticut College took advantage of Nichols' 28% shooting in the first half to mount its 14-point lead, using a late 14-5 run capped by a Rob Daley (Westwood, Mass.) layup to carry momentum into halftime.

The Camels finished the evening shooting 53.4% from the field, while Nichols managed 39.1% overall and claimed a 44-30 advantage off the glass.

Nichols is back in action on Saturday in a 1 p.m. game at Daniel Webster. Connecticut College hosts Salve Regina Tuesday at 8 p.m.

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