Box Score

WENHAM, Mass. – The Nichols College men's basketball team earned their seventh-straight win with a 75-64 triumph at Gordon College in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) men's basketball action Saturday afternoon.

The Bison improved to 12-4 (8-1 CCC) with the win and 16-18 all-time against the Fighting Scots. Sophomore and reigning Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Player of the Week Jalen Hurst (Hartford, Conn.) led four student-athletes in double-figures with 15 points – including four triples. Junior Marlon Bennett (Stratford, Conn.) also knocked down four 3's en route to 14 points off the bench while senior captain Ryan Sheehan (North Attleboro, Mass.) had 11 and sophomore Gustave Koumare (Harlem, N.Y.) went for 10 points.

Senior Alex Carnes (Phoenix, Ariz.) was one of four Fighting Scots (8-8, 6-4 CCC) in double-figures as he netted 14 points to go along with 11 boards and four dimes. Senior Park Thomas (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and junior Hans Miersma (Whitinsville, Mass.) each had 11 points while junior Jason Dempsey (Wallingford, Conn.) tallied 10 points and nine rebounds.

Nichols shot 50 percent from behind the arc (12-of-24) and finished the game at 46.4 percent from the field (26-of-56). The Bison also forced 15 turnovers while committing just 10 of their own. Gordon outrebounded Nichols 44-29. Sheehan led the Bison with eight rebounds.

The first five minutes of Saturday's contest had the makings of an exciting conference shootout. Both squads came out of the gates red-hot from the floor, but Nichols timely shooting continued well into the first half. The game was tied at 10 points aside after the opening five minutes when the Bison began to pull away.  

Triples by Koumare and Bennett gave Nichols its largest lead of the early going at 18-11 with 12:28 on the clock. Bennett hit another off-balance three from the deep corner to make it a 21-13 game only 30 seconds later. The junior shooting guard began the game five-of-five from the floor – four of which were behind the arch.

The Scots tried to chip away at the Bison lead little by little, but every time down the floor, Nichols seemed to hit a deep shot. The Bison vaulted their lead to as much as 15 points in the first half, but a pair of Dempsey jumpers cut the deficit to 40-29 at halftime.

A 15-minute break did little to deter Nichols from attempting the deep ball. Hurst and sophomore Christian Horton (Rutland, Mass.) got into the action to build the Bison advantage up to 16 points early in the second half. No matter what the Scots tried, they could not cut the lead to any less than nine points in the second half.

Triples and free throws ended up as the deciding factors in the game. The Scots made only four of their 21 shots from deep. The Bison also made their first nine free throws and finished 11-of-16 while the Scots struggled mightily from the line. They finished a notch above 50-percent, going 14-of-26 at the stripe.

Nichols plays at Roger Williams Wednesday at 8 p.m. The Fighting Scots host Gordon Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

Contributions from Gordon sports information