Box Score BEVEERLY, Mass. (Feb. 2) – The Nichols College men's basketball team saw its four-game win streak come to an end Thursday evening, falling 93-83 at Endicott in a Commonwealth Coast Conference game in MacDonald Gymnasium. The Bison again had an impressive outing from the bench, led by a team-high 18 points from first year guard Marlon Bennett.

Classmate Matt Langadas added 16 for the Bison (9-11, 7-6 CCC) on 6-of-11 shooting. Senior guard Michael Salis and first year forward Joe Gallant combined for 21 of the Bison's 52 rebounds on the night.

Andre Makris led all players with 27 points and posted four of the Gulls' 12 blocks and pulled down eight rebounds. John Henault scored 14, and Tanner McEntee (Del Mar, Calif.) had a team-high 10 boards with eight coming off the defensive glass.

The Gulls (12-7, 7-5 CCC) were 6-for-6 from three-point range to start the game, and used a 22-6 run to take a 15-point lead by the 12-minute mark. Nichols' Craig Merrick sank back-to-back threes and Gallant followed with a free throw after a put-back foul, but the Gulls quickly opened their lead to 21 despite full-court pressure from the Bison.

Nichols worked the boards to get back into the game, going on a 14-5 spree over a five minute span capped by a grab and dish from Jessy Michaud to Jalen Graham for a lay-in to make it 47-35 in favor of Endicott. The Gulls recovered, however, and held the Bison to just two points over the final two minutes to carry a 54-37 advantage into the locker room.

Endicott maintained its double-digit lead throughout the bulk of the second half. Back-to-back three-pointers from Bennett cut the Gulls' lead to 10 at the 13:34 mark, but the Gulls took advantage of five trips to the free-throw line as they extended their lead back to 18, 83-65, over the next eight minutes.

The Bison again got on the glass to go on a 14-3 spree in the next three minutes, bringing the Gulls' lead down into the single digits, 89-78, with just over two to play. Gallant was key in the run with a tip-in and a 3-for-3 performance at the charity stripe.

Endicott traveled the entire court length for a pair of layups to go back ahead, and Graham's pull-up three-pointer capped Nichols' scoring for the 93-83 final – the exact opposite score of the teams' earlier meeting in Dudley.

Endicott claimed 40 points in the paint to accompany 24 from three-point range on an 8-for-18 effort. Nichols used its rebounding advantage – including a 25-11 margin on the offensive end – to put up 21 second-chance points.

Nichols returns to Dudley Saturday for a noon CCC game against Wentworth. Fans are encouraged to come dressed in their finest Western attire for “Country Day” to be entered into raffle drawings.


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