DUDLEY, Mass. - The fourth-seeded Nichols College men's basketball team outdueled fifth-seeded Curry College, 99-89, in the Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship Tournament quarterfinals Tuesday evening. The win sends Nichols to the CCC Semifinals for the first time since 2003.
The Bison (13-13) will travel to #1 seed Salve Regina (18-8), Thursday for a 6 p.m. semifinal game. The Seahawks defeated eighth-seeded Western New England, 58-47, in the quarterfinals.
Nichols sophomore Ryan Sheehan led the Bison with 33 points, netting 6-of-8 from three-point range. First year Matt Langadas added a career-best 24 and classmate Marlon Bennett chipped in with a quiet 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Lambros Papalambros scored a game-best 35 points for the Colonels (11-15), while Sedale Jones had a double-double with 31 points and 13 rebounds.
In their first home playoff game in nine seasons, Nichols came out fired up in front of a full house of fans getting out to a 14-3 lead just 5:11 into the game. Curry weathered the storm and came up with a quick 8-3 run of their own to keep things from getting out of hand early, but Nichols took the momentum right back. Langadas and Bennett scored and-one layups on back-to-back possessions to bump the Nichols lead back up to 12.
Papalambros played a large part in keeping the Colonels in the game, scoring 18 first-half points and finishing with a game-high 35. The rest of the half was a back and forth battle, but Curry was able to come within six points. On the final play of the half Langadas drove to the hoop, missing a contested layup, but Bennett was there to grab the rebound and put back with just seconds left to give the Bison a 46-38 lead heading into halftime.
Both teams thrived off the offensive glass and second chance points in the first half. The Colonels put up 12 second chance points off of 10 boards, while Nichols found its stride down low with 16 put-backs from 11 rebounds. At the free throw line, however, Nichols left eight points at the stripe, hitting just 6-of-14.
The Bison came up with a pair of big plays early on in the second half. After a made free throw by Langadas, junior Justin Kuntz stole the inbounds pass. After a series of quick passes in the paint, Langadas put in the layup. Bison senior Michael Salis caused a turnover on the ensuing Curry possession, but Nichols could not capitalize on the fast break.
The Bison lead fluctuated between seven and 11 points until Nichols freshman Craig Merrick and sophomore Sam Horning made three-pointers to increase the lead to 16 points with just over 11 minutes remaining. Just minutes later Bennett came up with the hustle play of the game, diving for a loose ball that would eventually find its way to Sheehan for yet another three-point field goal to increase the lead to 18.
The Colonels showed no quit in this game, quickly cutting the lead back down to 11 behind 23 second-half points from Jones. It was to no avail, as the Nichols three-point shooting proved too lethal for the Colonels down the stretch. The Bison finished the night shooting 11-24 from downtown with seven of them coming in the second half.
The play of the Bison bench was a deciding factor in this game, outscoring the Colonels' bench 29-6.
The win sends Nichols to the CCC semifinals for just the second time in program history. The Bison's last semifinal appearance came in the 2002-03 season, a 64-78 loss at home to Colby-Sawyer. (Recap courtesy of Nichols Sports Information)
