DUDLEY, Mass. – The Nichols College men's basketball outscored visiting Curry College, 49-29, in the second half to pull away for a 94-69 win over the Colonels on Tuesday night in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action in Dudley, Mass.
The Bison have now won three-straight to improve to 17-3 overall and 11-2 in the CCC, while Curry drops to 1-19 and 0-13 in league games. Nichols returns to action on Saturday afternoon when they host the University of New England, the last team to beat the Bison, at 3:00 p.m.
Five players reached double-figures in scoring to lead Nichols, led by 22 points apiece from junior Marcos Echevarria and sophomore Tyler Dion. Echevarria also added five rebounds, seven assists, and four steals, while Dion recorded three rebounds and four assists on the night.
Current CCC Rookie of the Week freshman Matt Morrow continued his strong play, recording a double-double of 16 points, on 8-of-9 shooting, and 14 rebounds to go with three blocks. Senior Daequon Antoine added 12 points, five rebounds, three assists, and six steals, while sophomore Kash Jackson chipped in 11 points and five assists off the bench.
Curry was paced by 20 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and four steals from freshman Jeff Card. Classmate Akhari Goodridge and sophomore Jared Thorpe-Johnson added 12 points and three rebounds apiece, while senior Barak Swartzz had eight points, eight rebounds, and four assists off the bench for the Colonels.
The Bison shot 47.9% (35-of-73) from the field, including 40% (18-of-45) from beyond the arc, while connecting on 60% (6-of-10) of their free throws. Curry shot 38.6% (27-of-70) from the floor, while hitting 33.3% (7-of-21) of its three-pointers and 61.5% (8-of-13) of its free throws in the setback. The Colonels won the rebounding battle, 43-42, but Nichols committed only 15 turnovers compared to 21 for the visitors.
Curry came out swinging to start the game as a layup from Goodridge put the Colonels on top 7-2 in the early going. The two teams traded baskets until another score inside from Goodridge staked the visitors to an 18-14 advantage with 14:17 remaining in the opening half. The Bison climbed back in front when Jackson knocked down a triple to make it a 23-18 lead, and after Curry cut the margin to 25-23, Nichols used a 9-0 run on threes by Echevarria, Jackson, and Dion to give the Bison a 34-23 lead and force a Curry timeout with 9:28 to play.
Another Morrow layup gave the Bison their largest lead of the first half at 41-26, but Curry stuck around and used a 14-4 run to end the first half to make it a 45-40 game at the break.
The Colonels carried the momentum into the second half as back-to-back jumpers from Card left Nichols with a small 45-44 lead only 1:49 into the stanza. The Bison answered in a major way, rattling off a 16-2 run over the next four minutes to race out to a 61-46 lead and force a Curry timeout.
Curry sophomore Kieran Carroll would score inside to make it a 65-52 game, but another 10-2 run by the home team stretch the lead out to 75-54 with 8:28 remaining.
Curry would only get as close as 17 the rest of the way as the Bison built their lead to as many as 25 to pull away for the CCC victory.
Nichols returns to action on Saturday afternoon when they host the University of New England, the last team to beat the Bison, at 3:00 p.m. Curry will next play on Saturday when t9hey welcome in Salve Regina for 3:00 p.m. conference contest.
(Game Recap Courtesy of Nichols College Sports Information)