DUDLEY, Mass. (Dec. 5) – Led by a combined 26 second-half points from Chris Paquin (Barre, Mass.) and Ryan Wilcox (West Granby, Conn.), the Nichols College men's basketball team rallied past Lesley University for a 63-59 non-conference victory Saturday afternoon. Nichols trailed by 10 at the break and by as many as 16 early in the second-half, but Paquin posted 14 points, including three consecutive three-pointers, and Wilcox added 12 with the layup to put Nichols ahead for good with 3:54 remaining. Nichols improves to 4-2 after its second-straight double-digit comeback win, while Lesley falls to 2-6 on the year.

Paquin finished with a double-double, scoring a game-high 20 points to go with 12 rebounds (nine defensive), nailing six of 15 three-point attempts. Wilcox added 15 points, three steals and a pair of blocks. First year forward Kyle Mascilak (Sparta, N.J.) chipped in with 12 points and seven rebounds.

Sophomore guard Bryant Itonyo paced the Lynx with 14 points, while Jesus Trejo recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 boards.

It was slow going for both teams in the first half, as neither squad made a basket until Mascilak hit a shot from under the hoop over four minutes into the game. Lesley got on the board a minute and a half later with a jumper from Alex Green III.

Nichols led by as many as nine in the low-scoring opening half as Justin Kuntz (Wallingford, Conn.) hit a three-pointer with 7:01 left in the opening stanza. Juan Nieves answered right back with a trey to spark a 17-0 Lynx run  which put the visitors in the lead, 25-17, just four and a half minutes later.

Wilcox responded with a free throw and a putback off his missed second attempt from the line, but the Lynx tacked on a pair of free throws from John Sanchez and a three-pointer from Shawn Simmons to hold a 10-point lead at the break, 30-20.

Wilcox hit a three to open the second half, but a 10-1 Lesley run capped by a layup from Itonyo looked to put the game out of reach for the Bison by the 15-minute mark.

Nichols chipped away at the Lynx's lead, pulling to within five by the midway point before Trejo hit a jumper from under the rim for Lesley's first hoop in four minutes and a 43-36 lead. A pair of Itonyo free throws edged the Lynx ahead by nine, after which Paquin's outside game caught fire.

He hit the first to cut the Lynx's lead to six, and after two free throws from Wilcox, drained the next three to give Nichols a 52-51 lead with 6:38 to play.

Itonyo responded with a trey, one of three on the day for the sophomore, but Mascilak calmly sank two free throws to tie things up, 54-54.

Possession changed five times over the next minute and a half, landing in the Bison's court for Wilcox to lay in for a 56-54 lead. Mascilak added a second-chance putback for a four-point advantage with 2:44 to go and Riley added a jumper to make it 60-54 Nichols with 1:11 left.

Trejo brought the Lynx within three with a shot in the lane, but couldn't finish the three-point play at the line. Sanchez did convert both from the charity stripe with 21 seconds left to bring Lesley within one; he finished six-for-six at the line on the day.

Nichols hit three of four free throws down the stretch to keep the game in check, and Paquin intercepted the Lynx's final inbounds play to run the final seconds off the clock.

Nichols is back in action on Tuesday in a 7 p.m. game at Westfield State. Lesley returns to action Monday in a 7 p.m. game at Curry. 

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