Box Score QUINCY, Mass. (Feb. 12) -- Eastern Nazarene College came out on a 14-3 run and did not trail in the entire game as the Lions overtook Nichols College in The Commonwealth Coast Conference men's basketball action Saturday afternoon, 87-72.

DeAngelo Alston hit two free throws after 46 seconds of play and Eastern Nazarene carried the early lead to the finish. The Lions sustained a lead that was between five and nine points for the majority of the half and were able to stretch their advantage to a first half high 12 with 30 seconds remaining as Max Barbosa knocked down a three from the left wing. Nichols sophomore Nick Brown (North Reading, Mass.) was able to net a layup just before the buzzer to send the game Bison into halftime trailing 42-32.

The second half featured an impressive display of offense from Nichols sophomore Justin Kuntz (Wallingford, Conn.) that kept the Bison in contention. Kuntz score 18 of his game high 25 points in the second half on 7-11 shooting including 3-6 from three-point range.

Eastern Nazarene put together a 9-0 run to open the second half and quickly stretched the lead to 19 at 51-32. The two teams kept up the fast pace throughout the second half, trading buckets all the way to the end. Both teams outscored their first half totals, but it was Eastern Nazarene that was able to hold on for the victory.

The Lions were led by Barbosa who finished with 23 points in 21 minutes of play while fellow guard Alston tallied 18 points and two assists. The third of the Lions' guard trio, Aaron Johnson, played a solid all around game as he had 8 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. Freshman forward John Flakes notched his tenth double-double of the season by scoring 17 points and pulled in a game high 15 rebounds.

For Nichols, Kuntz made three assists to go with his 25 points while freshman Ryan Sheehan (North Attleboro, Mass.) scored 23 points while pulling in three rebounds and blocking two shots.

Both teams will play their next game next Wednesday, February 16th. Nichols will travel to Regis College for a 7:30pm matchup while Eastern Nazarene will host Salve Regina at 8pm.

Story courtesy Eastern Nazarene Sports Information

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