Box Score

DUDLEY, Mass. – Junior Sam Horning (Falmouth, Maine) came off the bench to score a game-high 14 points and lead the Nichols College men's basketball team to a 62-45 come-from-behind win over Roger Williams University in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action Tuesday evening at the Nichols Athletic Center.

The Bison – who trailed 27-20 at the half – outscored the Hawks 42-18 in the second half en route to their third win in their last four games and first home CCC triumph of the season. Sophomore Matt Langadas (Casco, Maine) tallied 11 points, five rebounds and three assists as six different student-athletes recorded at least seven points for the Bison. Nichols also shot 79 percent from the charity stripe (22-of-28) and received a total of 29 points from its bench.

Senior Mike Engermann (Red Bank, N.J.) and junior Will Gerencer (Bowdoin, Maine) paced the Hawks (5-10, 2-6 CCC) with eight points each while senior Mike Igoe (Lexington, Mass.) snared a team-high seven rebounds. Roger Williams shot 23 percent over the final 20 minutes and made just two of its 22 three-point attempts.

Nichols outrebounded the Hawks 46-35 – including a team-high eight from Horning – and received a boot defensively from senior Jeff Schmeltz (Pascoag, R.I.), who recorded three key blocks in just his second start of the season for first-year head coach Jeff Lindgren. Defensively, the Bison held the Hawks leading scorer, senior Jason LeCardi (Fair Haven, N.J.), to three points on 1-of-9 shooting.

The Bison opened the second half on a 24-10 run to turn a seven-point halftime deficit into a 44-37 lead. Horning scored six points during the run while Langadas went for five. A triple by Horning with 5:06 remaining pushed the Bison lead to double-digits at 51-39, and it never dipped below nine for the remainder of the contest.

“We didn't play the way we wanted and the way we prepared in practice, but we will literally take a league win any way we can get one,” said Lindgren.

Roger Williams saw eight different student-athletes score first-half points and led 24-14 at one point following two free throws by senior Matt Grossbard (Pearl River, N.Y.). Three-pointers from Horning and Langadas helped cut into the deficit, and each finished the half with five points. The Hawks defense held the Bison to 28 percent shooting and forced eight turnovers.

Freshman Gustave Koumare (Harlem, N.Y.) filled the stat sheet with seven points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal in 24 minutes for Nichols while senior Justin Kuntz (Wallingford, Conn.) notched nine points, three boards and a pair of dimes.

Nichols returns to action on Thursday when it heads to Rhode Island to face Salve Regina at 7:30 p.m. The Hawks host the Seahawks Saturday at 3 p.m.