Box Score

QUINCY, Mass. – Senior captain Ryan Sheehan (North Attleboro, Mass.) scored a team-high 26 points to help the Nichols College men's basketball team secure the No. 1 seed in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Tournament for the first time in school history with an 88-84 win at Eastern Nazarene Tuesday night.

The win extends the Bison's win streak to four and sends them into Saturday's regular season finale at Wentworth with a shot at the first 20-win season in program history. Nichols has now secured home court advantage throughout the conference playoffs, which begin Tuesday, January 25.

Sheehan, meanwhile, joined Billy Collins (1991-95) as the only two student-athletes in school history to score 2,000 career points. He is eight points shy of Collins' mark of 2,014 points. Sophomore Irving Eggleston (East Lyme, Conn.) added 16 points in 19 minutes for Nichols (19-5, 15-2 CCC) while classmate Jalen Hurst (Hartford, Conn.) netted 11 points.

Sophomore Jaylen Owens (Johns Creek, Ga.) led all scorers with 33 points as the Lions (18-5, 12-5 CCC) saw their eight-game win streak snapped. Sophomore Justin Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) chipped in with 13 points while junior Lequan Gomes (Fairfield, Conn.) scored 11 points and sophomore Jeremy Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) finished with 10.

Nichols raced out to a 7-0 lead three minutes after the opening tip. Eastern Nazarene trimmed the deficit to three with 6:09 remaining, 24-21, as freshman Christian Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) drained a trey. The Bison reestablished an eight-point edge with 3:21 left to play on a three-pointer by Sheehan, 37-29. Nichols reeled off the final five points of the first frame to carry a 44-33 advantage into the halftime intermission. Nichols shot 52 percent from the field and canned 60 percent of its three-pointers while ENC shot 32 percent.

The Bison stretched their lead to 17 points (50-33) after six-consecutive points to open the second stanza. Eastern Nazarene pulled to within eight at 59-51 with 14:23 left to play as Hard sank a triple. Nichols reclaimed a double-digit lead with eight minutes to go on a jumper by Eggleston.

The Lions then ripped off an 11-0 run to cut their deficit to two as Justin Wagner drilled a three-pointer with 2:17 left to play. Eastern Nazarene leveled the score at 82 with 1:26 on the clock as Lynch dished the ball to Gomes for a fast-break lay-in. Sophomore Gustave Koumare (Harlem, N.Y.) answered with a triple from the right corner to put Nichols up 85-82 with less than a minute remaining.

After sophomore Matt Langadas (Sebago, Maine) sank the first of two free throws to push Nichols edge to four, Owens banked in a layup with 12 seconds to play to cut the score to 86-84. Eastern Nazarene fouled Sam Horning (Falmouth, Maine) on the ensuing possession, and the senior calmly sank both free throws to make it a four-point game with three seconds remaining and seal the win.

The Bison connected on 53 percent of their shots in the contest - including 48 percent from outside the arc. ENC shot 50 percent in the second half to finish the game at 41 percent.

Nichols closes the regular season with a 3 p.m. contest at Wentworth on Saturday. The Lions travel to Gordon Saturday for a 3 p.m. contest.

Contributions from Eastern Nazarene sports information