DUDLEY, Mass. – The top-seeded #22 Nichols College men's basketball team will host No. 3-seed Endicott College in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship game on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. in the Athletic Center. The winner will claim the conference's automatic qualifier into the NCAA Tournament.
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CCC CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
Attending the game? Tickets are $5 for adults and seniors, while children under 12 get in free. Nichols students will also get in free with ID. Fans are encouraged to arrive early since seating is limited, however the indoor track will be open for standing room seating.
HOW THEY GOT HERE
Trailing by as many as 11 in the second half, the Bison rallied for an 89-75 win over No. 4-seed Roger Williams behind a game-high 34 points from sophomore
DeAnte Bruton. Bruton, who scored his 1,000th career point in the win, knocked down 14-of-21 shots while grabbing 10 rebounds and swiping three steals. Junior
Marcos Echevarria added 18 points, five rebounds, and five assists, while senior
Daequon Antoine posted a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Following an 83-74 win over No. 6-seed Wentworth, the Gulls took care of cross-town rival Gordon on Thursday night with an 86-70 win over the CCC's No. 2 seed. Sophomore Keith Brown registered a double-double with 25 points and 12 rebounds, while freshman Matt McDevitt buried 5-of-6 three-pointers for 19 points in the victory.
BISON VS. GULLS HISTORY
Nichols and Endicott have met 31 times in program history and the Gulls lead the all-time series 18-13. This will be the 10th meeting between the two programs since the start of the 2015 season, with the teams having met three times in the CCC Tournament and once in the NCAA Tournament. Nichols is 5-4 in the previous nine meetings, including a pair of wins this season.
The two teams met way back in November to open the CCC season and the Bison took a 64-35 lead into halftime before cruising to a 105-82 win over the Gulls.
DeAnte Bruton led four players in double-figures with 30 points, with
Daequon Antoine (22p, 7r),
Marcos Echevarria (21p, 6r, 7a), and sophomore
Jerome Cunningham (14p, 5r) also scoring in double-digits.
In the teams' second meeting in January, Endicott held a six-point lead late in the first half, but the Bison used a 13-4 run to close the half to take a 34-31 lead into the break. The Bison would go on to outscore the Gulls 49-32 in the second stanza behind a game-high 35 points from Echevarria to defeat Endicott 83-63.
Daequon Antoine added 18 points, while freshman
Matt Morrow recorded a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Endicott's Keith Brown currently ranks as the leading scorer in the conference at 23.8 points per game, but the Bison have held him to just 14.5 points per game on 27.6% (8-of-29) shooting in the two matchups.
NICHOLS LEADERS (24-3)
#4
Marcos Echevarria (21.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 5.0 apg, 2.0 spg, 110 3PTM) – CCC Player of the Year, All-CCC First Team
#1
DeAnte Bruton (17.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 3.7 apg, 2.1 spg) – All-CCC First Team
#2
Daequon Antoine (14.6 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.8 spg, 80 3PTM) – All-CCC Third Team
#3
Tyler Dion (11.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.4 apg, 43.9% 3FG, 84.4% FT)
#13
Jerome Cunningham (11.2 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.0 spg, 1.2 bpg) – All-CCC Third Team
ENDICOTT LEADERS (19-8)
#24 Keith Brown (23.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.0 spg, 100 3PTM, 76.7 FT%) – All-CCC First Team
#34 Matt McDevitt (11.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.0 apg, 48.1 FG%, 46.9% 3FG%)
#22 Nick Thibeault (9.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 52.6% FG)
#1 Joel Villa (8.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.4 spg, 51.8 FG%)
#21 Vinny Clifford (7.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.2 apg)
Commonwealth Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
CCC Quarterfinals – Tuesday, February 20th
#1 Nichols 100, #8 Western New England 68
#2 Gordon 99, #7 Salve Regina 85
#3 Endicott 83, #6 Wentworth 74
#4 Roger Williams 88, #5 U New England 81
CCC Semifinals – Thursday, February 22nd
#1 Nichols 89, #4 Roger Williams 75
#3 Endicott 86, #2 Gordon 70
CCC Finals – Saturday, February 24th
#3 Endicott at #1 Nichols, 1:00 p.m.
