Box Score DUDLEY, Mass. (Jan. 28) - A high scoring first half by Nichols College propelled the Bison to a  77-69 victory against Commonwealth Coast Conference foe Western New England University despite a furious second half comeback by the Golden Bears. The Bison offense proved to be too much for WNE as Nichols had four players in double-digit scoring on the afternoon to win their third-straight game. Nichols sophomore Ryan Sheehan led the way with a game- high 19 points on the afternoon.

Nichols was hot from beyond the arc, shooting 11-for-25 on the afternoon to match a season-high set at Endicott earlier in the month.  Overall, Nichols shot 46.8% from the field and 44% from three-point range, led by a 3-for-4 effort from sophomore Sam Horning, who totaled 15 points on the day. Senior guard Mike Salis led the Bison in rebounds, assists, and steals with seven, seven, and five respectively. Salis also contributed four points on the afternoon, and first year Matt Langadas scored 16.

Western New England senior guard Andre Shaw scored his 1,000th career point in the opening half, sinking a free-throw after three long-range three-pointers. He finished the game with 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting. Junior guard Damon Alston led the Golden Bears with 15 points, while Ryan Mickiewicz added 14.

Both teams came out firing from beyond the arc in the first half. Nichols was the team to take advantage of it, shooting a hot 8-for-15 in the first half. Sharp shooting along with 15 Golden Bears turnovers and a 27-7 Bison run helped Nichols jump out to the first half lead at 47-24.

Western New England came out with a lot of energy in the second half holding the Bison to just one field goal in the first seven minutes while cutting their lead to 10. It was Langadas who helped stave off the WNE comeback with six points in less than a minute to wake up the home team just prior to the midpoint. And within the next six minutes of play, the Nichols lead was back up to 21.

The Golden Bears had one last late surge in them to cut it to a two possession game, but Nichols made their free throws down the stretch, including a 4-for-4 effort by Sheehan with under a minute left.

Though rebounds were even at 36 each, Nichols converted 11 offensive boards into 18 second-chance points. The Bison bench was again in full swing, netting 33 points in the game to Western New England's 13.

With the win the Bison improve to 6-5 in conference play with an overall record of 8-10 while the Golden Bears fall to 3-8 in CCC play and 6-11 overall. The Bison will try to ride the momentum of their current three-game winning streak into "BISON PRIDE" night, Tuesday against Eastern Nazarene at 5:30 p.m.

Box Score