DUDLEY, Mass. – Led by a career-high 22 points from senior captain Jeff Lindgren (Sturbridge, Mass.), the Nichols College men's basketball team defeated visiting Anna Maria College, 81-49, in a The Commonwealth Coast Conference game. The Bison, winners of four-straight games, improve to 11-9 overall and 6-2 in league action, while the AMCATS fall to 4-16 and 1-7 in conference play.

Lindgren finished the night shooting 5-for-10 from three-point range, and also dished out three assists. First-year forward Pete Atkins (Gainesville, Fla.) added 14 points, while Senior forward John Costello (Tolland, Conn.) chipped in with 12 points, six rebounds and three assists. Junior guard Chris Paquin (Barre, Mass.) picked up 11 points and four assists.

For the AMCATS, freshman forward Brad Peterson paced the offense with eight points and six rebounds, while senior captain Henry Rose also added eight points. Sophomore center Derek Johnson picked up a team-high seven rebounds.

Lindgren poured in 19 points in the first half, nailing four of six attempts from beyond the arc as the Bison carried a 17-point lead into halftime. The teams were tied at seven-all just under five minutes into the game before Nichols went on a 15-5 run to build up a 10-point margin by the 8:19 mark.

After an 11-2 run capped by another Lindgren trey, the Bison led by 35 with 6:32 left in the second half, before the AMCATS put together a 12-5 run to cut Nichols' lead to 77-47 with three minutes remaining.

The Bison finished the game shooting 47% (31-66) and 38.5% (10-26) from three-point range, while holding Anna Maria to 35.6% field goal efficiency (21-59). The Bison continued their trend of outrebounding opponents, holding a 45-32 advantage off the glass.

Nichols is back in action on Saturday when they host Gordon College in a 3 p.m. game. The Bison will honor its two seniors, Lindgren and Costello, prior to the game. Also planned for Saturday is Take A Kid to the Game Day, featuring J.J. Jumper, the official mascot of NCAA Basketball. Anna Maria returns to action Saturday in a 3 p.m. game at Wentworth.

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