DUDLEY, Mass. – Junior Marlon Bennett (Stratford, Conn.) poured in 22 points off the bench to help the Nichols College men's basketball team to an 84-65 win over Curry College Tuesday night in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at the Nichols Athletic Center.
 
Sophomore Christian Horton (Rutland, Mass.) canned four three-pointers en route to a career-high 15 points as the Bison outscored the Colonels 48-27 in the second half to move to 15-4 on the season (11-1 CCC).
 
The Bison also received key contributions from senior Sam Horning (Falmouth, Maine) and sophomore Irving Eggleston (East Lyme, Conn.), who chipped in with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Nichols shot a season-high 54 percent from downtown (14-of-26) – led by five triples from Bennett, four from Horton, and three from Horning.
 
Junior Antonio Jones (Dorchester, Mass.) scored a team-high 16 points for the Colonels (4-16, 3-10 CCC). Senior Lambros Papalambros (Quincy, Mass.) ended with 14 points on 3-for-12 shooting while freshman Kenneth Ramos (Dorchester, Mass.) netted 10 points.
 
Nichols raced out to 12-point lead at 25-13 as it rattled home seven threes in the opening 11:14 of the contest, led by Bennett with four. Curry closed the half with a 25-11 run to take a 38-36 lead to the locker room. Junior Matthew Russell (South Portland, Maine) ignited the run with six points, and Ramos finished the opening 20 minutes with a team-high 10 points. Bennett and Horton, meanwhile, led the Bison with nine points apiece.
 
Trailing 46-45 following a three-pointer from senior Carlos Riberio (Charlestown, Mass.) 4:38 into the second half, the Bison ripped off a 15-4 run to move in front by 10 at 60-50. Eggleston scored six points during the run while Bennett had five.
 
After a jumper from Papalambros cut the Colonels deficit to seven, Nichols scored nine unanswered points – highlighted by five-straight points from Bennett – to grab a 72-56 lead with 5:58 on the clock. The lead swelled to 19 on Horton's fourth triple of the night, and a steal and subsequent layup from freshman Jared Thompson (Scituate, R.I.) give the Bison their largest lead of the night at 21.
 
Nichols finished the evening shooting 53 percent from the floor – including 57 percent in the second half. The Bison's up-tempo offense accounted for a 22-3 edge in fast-break points. Curry, meanwhile, shot 37 percent and saw the Bison turn 18 turnovers into 20 points.
 
The Bison host Eastern Nazarene on Thursday night in a game that was originally scheduled for January 21, but moved due to inclement weather. Curry hosts Gordon Saturday at 3 p.m.