Box Score DUDLEY, Mass. (Feb. 18) – The Nichols College men's basketball team secured its first home playoff since the 2002-03 season Saturday afternoon, defeating visiting Gordon College, 77-73, on Senior Day. Mike Salis hit a clutch three-pointer and a pair of free throws among his 11 points on the day, as he and fellow seniors Dominique Jean-Pierre and Nick Brown were honored prior to the game. Salis added four steals, three assists and three rebounds on the afternoon to lift the Bison to a 12-13 overall record and to 10-8 in league games.

The Bison earned the fourth seed in the tournament and will host fifth-seeded Curry on Tuesday in the quarterfinal round of the Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship Tournament. Gordon will travel to second-seeded Wentworth for the quarterfinals Tuesday.

Sophomore Ryan Sheehan led Nichols with 28 points and five rebounds, while first year Matt Langadas added 12 points, four assists and three rebounds.

Junior David Dempsey scored 28 points in the game, including his 1,000th career point for the Scots (9-16, 8-10 CCC). Park Thomas added 18 points and Hans Miersma pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.

Nichols jumped out to a 5-0 lead early but the Scots befuddled the home team during an 18-1 run spanning the middle seven minutes of the stanza to claim a 12-point lead, 25-13. Gordon extended it to as many as 14 before Nichols started to hit its shots. The Bison held the Scots to just two points- both from the line – over the final four minutes of the stanza while closing the gap to four by halftime, 33-29.

The game remained close throughout the second half with Nichols taking its first lead of the stanza on a Craig Merrick three pointer prior to the midpoint. Dempsey answered with a jumper to tie it up, but Jalen Graham found Sam Horning under the hoop for an easy inbounds dish to give the Bison a two-point lead, 52-50.

The teams traded the lead three more times before Salis's clutch pull-up three-pointer gave Nichols the lead for good with just over three minutes left in the game. Leading 66-65, Salis was fouled on the next possession where he sank both free throws for a three-point lead.

Langadas came up big with a three-pointer to push the Bison's lead to four, 71-67, after Miersma had hit a layup on the other end.

With 1:17 left, Dempsey scored down low to get the Scots within two, 71-69, but Salis grabbed an offensive rebound off the Bison's three-point attempt on the other end and rolled it in to make it a two-possession game.

Nichols was able to counter two more Dempsey layups with 4-for-4 free throw shooting from Sheehan in the final minute to seal the win.

The Scots outrebounded the Bison by a 47-31 margin, but turned the ball over 26 times to the Bison's 8, relinquishing 28 points off turnovers. The Bison bench scored 29 points on the day, while Gordon was dominant down low with a 34-28 point advantage.

Box Score