Box Score DUDLEY, Mass. (Jan. 10) – The Nichols College men's basketball team got its first win of 2012 in impressive fashion Tuesday night, scoring from all over the court in a 93-83 Commonwealth Coast Conference win against Endicott. The Bison snapped an eight-game skid with the victory, defeating the Gulls for the first time in four seasons to improve to 3-8 overall and 1-3 in CCC games. Endicott saw its three-game win streak come to an end as the Gulls dip to 7-4 overall and 2-2 in league play.

Nichols logged 33 points from three-point range, shooting 52.4% for the game (11-for-21), and dominated the paint by a 38-26 point margin. Five Bison players scored in double-digit points, including three off the bench to lead the reserves' 47-point effort. Sam Horning led the Bison's long-range attack with 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc. Joe Gallant also had 14 off the bench, shooting 6-for-9. The pair combined for 13 rebounds. Starter Ryan Sheehan paced the team with 17 points, while Nick Brown had seven boards and a pair of blocks in a productive 16 minutes on the floor. 

Endicott's Lance Greene led all scorers with 19 points and a game-high eight assists, while Erik Callo posted a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds – all on the defensive glass. Lachlan Magee also scored 14.

Sheehan and Jessy Michaud shot the Bison out to a seven-point lead in the opening two minutes, but the Gulls chipped away at it and took the lead five minutes later on a Magee basket. Nichols again went ahead by seven, at the midway point, extending it to nine, 33-24, on a Gallant second-chance hoop, and double-digits as he completed the three-point play. The Gulls brought it as close as three points, but Mike Salis closed out the half with a rolling layup at the buzzer to give Nichols a 43-37 advantage at the break.

After trading leads seven times in the first half, Endicott cut it to a one-possession game within the opening minute on back-to-back baskets from Greene and Magee, but three-pointers from Michaud and Sheehan mixed amongst power plays under the hoop quickly sent the Bison back ahead by double digits before the midway point.

Nichols twice led by as many as 15 points, holding an 87-72 advantage with less than two minutes remaining. Bennett Knowlton hit a three-pointer off a steal to give the Gulls some momentum. With just over a minute left, Greene sank a pair of free throws to bring the Bison's advantage back into single digits, 88-79, but the teams traded free throws down the stretch and Nichols came away with it.

The furious pace of the game surrendered only 22 combined turnovers, 10 for Nichols and 12 for Endicott, which translated into 18 Bison and 15 Gulls points. The host Bison outrebounded the Gulls by a 40-35 clip with the difference coming on the offensive glass.

Nichols, which scored the most points in a regular-season CCC game since the 2008-09 season, continues conference action Thursday in an 8 p.m. game at Eastern Nazarene. Endicott hosts Wentworth Thursday in an 8 p.m. CCC game.

Box Score