SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Junior guard Bryan Riley (West Boylston, Mass.) sank three of four free throws in the final 10.4 seconds to lead the Nichols men's basketball team to a 62-60 victory over host Western New England College Thursday night at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.

Junior forward Ryan Wilcox (West Granby, Conn.) and senior guard Jeff Lindgren (Sturbridge, Mass.) each added 12 points as the Bison evened their overall record at 9–9 and improve to 4-2 in The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC).

Both teams shot 38% from the field, but the difference came at the foul line where Nichols finished 13-of-18 for 72.2% while Western New England College made only 6-of-16 attempts (37.5%), including four missed shots in the final minute.

Nichols led 34-25 at halftime before the Golden Bears staged a comeback taking their first lead at 48-45 on a three-pointer by junior guard Paul Kennedy with 9:18 left in the game.

Western New England College (4-13, 2-4 TCCC) took its biggest lead when sophomore forward Brad Thomka made two foul shots for a 56-50 advantage with 3:01 left. His basket gave the hosts a 60-57 lead with 48.4 seconds left.

This time the Bison rallied as Wilcox scored a basket with 35.3 seconds remaining. That set the stage for Riley who previously made only 1-of-8 shots from the field. He finished the game with six points, but collected six rebounds, and had three steals.

Sophomore center Chris Smith (Moosup, Conn.) was the third Nichols player in double figures with 10 points as he and Lindgren combined for 22 points off the bench. Wilcox grabbed seven rebounds as did first-year forward Pete Atkins (Gainesville, Fla.) who also netted nine points.

Thomka led the Golden Bears with a career-high 19 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double.

Nichols opens a four-game homestand with a 3 p.m. game against Curry Saturday. 

Story Courtesy WNEC Sports Information

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