Box Score

DUDLEY, Mass. – Senior captain Ryan Sheehan (North Attleboro, Mass.) scored a game-high 18 points to help the Nichols College men's basketball team to a 60-51 win over Western New England University in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) men's basketball action Thursday night at the Nichols Athletic Center.

Junior Joe Gallant (Salem, N.H.) pulled down a team-high 12 rebounds to go along with six points, three assists and two steals as the Bison improved to 7-4 on the season and 4-1 in the conference. Sophomore Gustave Koumare (Harlem, N.H.) knocked down all four of his field goal attempts and finished with 11 points, five rebounds and three steals.

Senior Kevin Wilkes (Troy, N.Y.) paced the Golden Bears (2-9, 0-5 CCC) with 14 points while classmate Dennis Rinaldi (Harrison, N.Y.) racked up a double-double with 13 points and 12 boards. WNE outrebounded the Bison 41-37 but struggled from both the charity stripe (10-of-22; 46 percent) and behind the three-point arc (1-of-13; eight percent).

Nichols led by as many as 13 in the first half en route to a 33-24 halftime lead. Sheehan led all scorers with eight points while junior Marlon Bennett (Stratford, Conn.) and sophomore Christian Horton (Rutland, Mass.) each went for six points. Sophomore Zack Askew (Middletown, Conn.) led WNE with seven points while Wilkes netted six.

The Bison extended their lead to as many as 14 points on three different occasions  through the first 12+ minutes of the second half – the last of which came on a jumper by Sheehan with 8:24 remaining in regulation. A three-point play by junior Musa Elsir (Springfield, Mass.) cut the Golden Bears deficit to eight (50-42), but Sheehan answered with a three to put Nichols back up by 12.

Back-to-back layups from Elsir and Rinaldi with less than two minutes remaining made it a seven-point game at 55-48, but a free throw from Sheehan and two more from Koumare sealed the win.

"Our toughness was the key to this win," said Nichols head coach Jeff Lindgren. "We have a group of guys with a lot of character. Mike is a very good coach who wanted to slow us down and play tough, hard-nosed basketball, and we played into their system. We were able to win a basketball game in a way we usually don't. You take a win in this league any way you can."

Nichols rattled in 13 of its 17 free throw attempts (77 percent) and canned seven triples – including three from Sheehan. Both teams protected the ball well as Nichols only turned the ball over 10 times while the Golden Bears committed just nine turnovers.

The Bison return to action on Saturday when the head to Biddeford, Maine for a 3 p.m. contest with the Nor'easters from UNE. The Golden Bears entertain Eastern Nazarene at 3 p.m.