Box Score

DUDLEY, Mass. – Sophomore Matt Langadas (Casco, Maine) poured in a career-high 30 points to propel the Nichols College men's basketball team to a season-opening 99-82 win over Lasell College in non-conference action Saturday afternoon at the Nichols Athletic Center.

Classmate Marlon Bennett (Stratford, Conn.) dropped in 23 points – including five 3-point field goals – as the Bison (1-0) scored the most points in an opener in program history in first-year head coach Jeff Lindgren's debut. Nichols shot a sizzling 54.4 pct. from the field and recorded assists on 24 of its 37 field goals while holding the Lasers to just 36.5 pct. shooting from the field (27-of-74).

Junior Jeff Schmeltz (Pascoag, R.I.) notched a double-double for the Bison with 12 points and 12 boards in 19 minutes of action while freshman Irving Eggleston (East Lyme, Conn.) went for 14 points in his collegiate debut. Sophomore Jessy Michaud (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) sparked the offense with a career-high seven dimes to go along with four points and six boards.

“The first win of my career takes a back to the first win of the season for this team,” said Lindgren, who spent the previous three seasons as an assistant coach in Dudley. “They played very well, stuck together and came through with plays every time we needed one.  We need to work on our defensive game, but our toughness rebounding and our unselfishness are the two most impressive things I saw today.”

Senior Sean Bertanza (Seymour, Conn.) led four Lasers (0-1) in double-figures in scoring with 25 points. Sophomore Brandon Ganesh (Wellington, Fla.) tallied 15 points, six assists and five helpers while junior Roy Watts (Lafayette, N.J.) netted 12 points.

The Bison – who led from wire-to-wire – held a five-point lead at halftime (50-45) behind 16 points from Langadas and 15 from Bennett. The Lasers forced 13 turnovers and knocked down 15-of-17 from the charity stripe to keep the game close through 20 minutes of action. Bertanza paced Lasell with 13 points.

Nichols opened the second half on an 18-8 run to open up a 68-53 lead behind five from Bennett and a pair of buckets from Langadas. The lead swelled to 20 at 83-63 following a trey from Bennett with just under eight minutes left on the clock, and grew to as many as 22 with a layup by Eggleston at 4:56.

Both teams were exceptional from the free throw line as the Bison hit on 17-of-19 (89.5 pct.) and Lasell on 25-of-31 (80.6).

The Bison return to action on Monday with a 7:30 p.m. contest at MCLA. The Lasers play at Babson Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.