DUDLEY, Mass. – The Curry College men's basketball team fell to host Nichols College, 124-87 on Thursday night in Commonwealth Coast Conference action at the Nichols Athletic Center.
Sophomore Marcos Echevarria (Lynn, Mass.) filled the stat sheet with 23 points, six steals, five assists, and three rebounds as the Bison canned 51 percent of their field goals (45-of-88) – including 18 three-pointers. Senior Devin Stallings (Waterbury, Conn.) poured in 21 points and grabbed eight boards, freshman Tyler Dion (Barre, Mass.) scored a career-high 17 points – highlighted by five 3-pointers – and freshman DeAnte Bruton (New London, Conn.) chipped in with 14 points.
Sophomore Luke Schreiner (Breezy Point, N.Y.) led the Colonels with 16 points (4-of-5 three-pointers). Freshmen Jordan George-Bellitti (Cambridge, Mass.), Jaelen George-Bellitti (Cambridge, Mass), and Nick George (Rockland, Mass.) each netted 10 points. Curry turned the ball over 21 times which led to 32 Nichols points and shot 42 percent from the field (30-of-72). The Colonels held a 51-48 edge on the glass.
Dion knocked down four triples in the opening eight minutes of the first half to give the Bison a 23-14 lead. A dunk by Stallings on the fast break off a pass from Daequon Antoine (Fort Mill, S.C) extended the lead to 18 points at 47-29, and then his put-back dunk with 1:53 to go increased the lead to 28 points (63-35).
Echevarria led all scorers with 20 first-half points – including five 3-pointers – while Dion had 15 points and Antoine had 14. The Bison shot 60 percent from downtown (12-of-20) and forced 15 turnovers. Three student-athletes scored eight points to pace Curry in the opening stanza.
Freshman Jerome Cunningham (Westbury, N.Y.) threw down a dunk early in the second half to push the lead to 30 before a layup by Antoine at 9:11 made it 103-63. Senior Nate Tardy (Moodus, Conn.) connected on a 3-pointers at 6:31 to give Nichols a 50-point advantage.
All-Time Series
Tonight's contest marked the 65th all-time meeting between Curry College and Nichols College. The Bison have won the last eight meetings and now trail the series, 33-32. Nichols has won the last eight games by an average of 31.8 ppg.
Next Games
Nichols (10-2, 5-0 CCC)- Saturday, January 7 @ UNE, 3:00 p.m.
Curry (1-11, 0-5 CCC) – Saturday, January 7 @ Eastern Nazarene, 3:00 p.m.
(Game Recap Courtesy of Nichols College Sports Information)
