DUDLEY, Mass. (Feb. 20) – The Nichols College men's basketball team will host a home game in the upcoming Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship tournament for the first time in nine seasons Tuesday when the fourth-seeded Bison host fifth-seeded Curry College. Nichols won three of its last four games, including a 77-73 regular-season finale victory over Gordon, to claim the fourth spot outright with a 10-8 conference record.

Nichols last hosted a playoff game on February 25, 2003, after winning CCC South Division with a 10-6 conference record. The top-seeded Bison defeated fourth seed University of New England, 76-72 in the quarterfinals before falling to the North's second seed Colby-Sawyer, 78-64 two days later at home.

The 2002-03 team was the first to host a playoff game since the Bison joined the CCC in 1995, and was the first to post a winning season since the 1984-85 squad. Head Coach Dave Sokolnicki was in his fourth season at the helm and guided the Bison to records for three-pointers made (196) and to a record seven consecutive home wins – both of which still stand today.

Much like the 2002-03 team that came back from a 2-6 start to win eight of its first 10 games back from break, this year's squad started 2012 in a 2-8 hole before winning seven of the next 11 to get back in the swing of things.
The Bison are led by sophomore forward Ryan Sheehan, who is fewer than 50 points away from 1,000 in just his second collegiate season. Sheehan averages 18.8 points per game and is one of the top free throw shooters in the CCC with a 84.4% average (114-135).

Nichols' youth movement sees six freshmen on the roster, five of whom see a lot of action on the court, including starters Matt Langadas and Jessy Michaud. The Bison's bench has proven to be a potent asset, as rookies Marlon Bennett, Jalen Graham and Joe Gallant have led the Nichols reserves to outscore opponents' benches by almost 10 points per game.

Senior captain Michael Salis leads the team in both steals and rebounds, while on the offensive end is the top playmaker with four assists per game.

The Bison split the season home-and-home series with Curry under the CCC's new regular-season format. In the conference opener for both teams in Dudley on November 30th, Nichols led by six with eight minutes left to play, but Lambros Papalambros was key to the Colonels' 69-59 comeback win with 26 points on the night. In Milton on January 25th, Nichols rallied back from an 18-point deficit on a career-high matching 37 points from Sheehan and a game-winning layup from Langadas with three-seconds left in a thrilling 80-78 win. Curry and Nichols have never met in the CCC playoffs

Tickets will be available at the door and are $5 for adults and $3 for students and children. Fans who can't make it to Dudley can follow the game online with Live Stats.  

Visit the Bison's Championship Central Page for all of your postseason info needs.