Box Score NEWPORT, R.I. (Feb. 23) – The fourth-seeded Nichols College men's basketball team rallied from down 12 at halftime, but were ultimately edged, 81-80, by top-seeded Salve Regina in the Commonwealth Coast Conference semifinals played at the Rodgers Recreation Center in Newport, R.I. Thursday evening.

Nichols College sophomore forward Ryan Sheehan recorded his 1,000th career point in the game, converting a three-point play at the 13:54 mark of the second half. Sheehan becomes the third player in Nichols history to hit 1,000 points in just two seasons, and the first since Vin Miller in 1980.

Sheehan finished with 16 in the game for the Bison (13-14), while first year Matt Langadas led the team with 18 points and eight rebounds on 7-of-14 shooting. Classmate Marlon Bennett added 14 and junior Justin Kuntz joined them in double digits with 12 points – both on 50% shooting.

As a team, Nichols shot 55% in the second half (22-40), rallying from a lowly 24.2% first-half 20-point effort. For the game the team posted a 41.1% shooting display.

Will Smiley led all scorers with 23 points for the Seahawks, firing a hot 10-for-11, including 15 in the first half. Ryan Birrell and Isiah Pringle each added 17 with Birrell recording a double-double with 10 boards. As a team, Salve Regina outrebounded the Bison at a 47-37 margin.

Salve took a 5-0 lead within the opening three minutes and never trailed in the game. Smiley scored five of the Seahawks' points in a 13-0 run starting at the midpoint to build up its largest lead of the game at 28-12. Nichols called a timeout and then ran on an 8-0 spree all scored from the paint to bring Salve Regina's lead back to single digits, 28-20, with 1:24 left in the half. Smiley hit two more jumpers – including one at the buzzer - to close out the half and give the Seahawks a 32-20 lead headed into the locker room.

Nichols came out hot in the second half, cutting Salve's lead to eight on a Kuntz layup. Salve extended it back to 14 before Sheehan drove to the hoop for a layup and was fouled to send him to the line for his 1,000th point. The league's top free throw shooter didn't disappoint and swished the hoop to hit the milestone.

Back-to-back three-pointers from Langadas and Craig Merrick capped an 18-3 run by the Bison, bringing them back into the game and tying it up, 56-56, with 6:32 to go.

Salve responded with four points at the line around a Patrick Dineen three-pointer to take a seven-point lead and extended it to 11 with a pair from the stripe by Birrell with 2:07 remaining.

Trailing nine with 1:23 left in the game, Merrick came up with a big three-pointer from the corner to spark the Bison. The teams traded baskets until Kuntz dodged a defender and swished a pull-up three-pointer to make it 78-74 in favor of the Seahawks with 24 ticks left on the clock.

After a Scott St. Lawrence layup pushed the Seahawks back ahead by six, it was Bennett who came up with a three-pointer to make it a one-possession game, 80-77, with nine seconds left.

Pringle sank the first of two of free throws to make it 81-77 Seahawks with six seconds left, the second of which Langadas nabbed the rebound and dished to Kuntz for another three-pointer, seeing the clock stop with 0.1 seconds left, an 81-80 score and just enough time for the Seahawks to inbound the ball for the win.

Salve Regina advances to the CCC Championship game for the second straight season, and will host No. 3 Endicott Saturday at 7 p.m.

Nichols sees its season end at 13-14, after hosting its second CCC quarterfinal game and advancing to the conference semifinals for the second time since joining the league in 1995.

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