Papalambros Scores 26 As Men's Basketball Grabs 69-59 CCC Win at Nichols
November 30, 2011
DUDLEY, Mass. – Curry College sophomore Lambros Papalambros (Quincy, Mass.) scored 26 points to lead the Colonels to a 69-59 victory at Nichols Thursday evening in the Commonwealth Coast Conference opener for both teams. Papalambros dished six assists and pulled down seven rebounds while shooting 11-for-15 from the floor for the Colonels who improve to 2-3 overall. Nichols evens out at 2-2.
Junior guard Sedale Jones (Pittsfield, Mass.) added 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists for the Colonels, with seven boards coming on the defensive end.
Junior guard Justin Kuntz (Wallingford, Conn.) led the Bison with 18 points, while Ryan Sheehan (North Attleboro, Mass.) added 17. Junior forward Craig Merrick (Ledyard, Conn.) scored 11 second-half points, shooting 3-for-6 from three-point range and 4-for-9 overall.
Curry came out hot to start the game, jumping to a nine-point lead before the midway point. Nichols cut it down to two before the Colonels used a pair of back-to-back Papalambros three-pointers to quickly move back ahead by eight with six-and-a-half left in the frame.
Nichols again chipped away at it and Kuntz brought the Bison within one, 25-24, with a layup, but couldn’t finish the three-point play. He made good on his next pair of free throws to put Nichols ahead, 26-25, and Matt Langadas (Casco, Maine) converted a Kuntz steal into a layup to edge the Bison ahead by three.
Ronsanto Campbell (St. Louis, Mo.) swung the momentum the other way and sank a transition layup and a pair of free throws on the next possession before Papalambros closed out the half with a fast-break layup and a three-point Colonels lead, 31-28.
A Merrick three-pointer looked to quiet down the Colonels from the get-go in the second half, but Papalambros and Jones connected to keep Curry ahead by eight until Kuntz hit four consecutive free throws and Merrick nailed a jumper inside the line to cut it to a one point game at 43-42. Merrick then swished back-to-back threes to send the Bison to a three-point advantage, and Sam Horning (Falmouth, Maine) followed up a Marlon Bennett (Stratford, Conn.) steal with a layup for a five-point advantage.
Nichols led by as many as six with just over eight minutes to play, but a Papalambros three-pointer stifled the momentum. The teams traded baskets for the next few minutes until Jones nailed a pair of free throws to take a one-point lead and followed a costly Nichols turnover with pull-up three-pointer to send the Colonels on their way.
Nichols found 16 of its points at the free-throw line (16-21), but managed only a 31.7% effort from the floor (19-60). Curry, meanwhile, shot 45.8% from the floor (27-50) and sank 10 of 11 free throws. The Colonels outrebounded the Bison by a 38-37 margin, holding a 32-26 advantage on the defensive end, leading to eight fast break points.
Nichols is back in action on Saturday in a 3 p.m. CCC game at Western New England. Curry hosts Gordon Saturday in a 3 p.m. CCC game. (Game recap courtesy of Nichols Sports Information)
Game Statistics
Junior guard Sedale Jones (Pittsfield, Mass.) added 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists for the Colonels, with seven boards coming on the defensive end.
Junior guard Justin Kuntz (Wallingford, Conn.) led the Bison with 18 points, while Ryan Sheehan (North Attleboro, Mass.) added 17. Junior forward Craig Merrick (Ledyard, Conn.) scored 11 second-half points, shooting 3-for-6 from three-point range and 4-for-9 overall.
Curry came out hot to start the game, jumping to a nine-point lead before the midway point. Nichols cut it down to two before the Colonels used a pair of back-to-back Papalambros three-pointers to quickly move back ahead by eight with six-and-a-half left in the frame.
Nichols again chipped away at it and Kuntz brought the Bison within one, 25-24, with a layup, but couldn’t finish the three-point play. He made good on his next pair of free throws to put Nichols ahead, 26-25, and Matt Langadas (Casco, Maine) converted a Kuntz steal into a layup to edge the Bison ahead by three.
Ronsanto Campbell (St. Louis, Mo.) swung the momentum the other way and sank a transition layup and a pair of free throws on the next possession before Papalambros closed out the half with a fast-break layup and a three-point Colonels lead, 31-28.
A Merrick three-pointer looked to quiet down the Colonels from the get-go in the second half, but Papalambros and Jones connected to keep Curry ahead by eight until Kuntz hit four consecutive free throws and Merrick nailed a jumper inside the line to cut it to a one point game at 43-42. Merrick then swished back-to-back threes to send the Bison to a three-point advantage, and Sam Horning (Falmouth, Maine) followed up a Marlon Bennett (Stratford, Conn.) steal with a layup for a five-point advantage.
Nichols led by as many as six with just over eight minutes to play, but a Papalambros three-pointer stifled the momentum. The teams traded baskets for the next few minutes until Jones nailed a pair of free throws to take a one-point lead and followed a costly Nichols turnover with pull-up three-pointer to send the Colonels on their way.
Nichols found 16 of its points at the free-throw line (16-21), but managed only a 31.7% effort from the floor (19-60). Curry, meanwhile, shot 45.8% from the floor (27-50) and sank 10 of 11 free throws. The Colonels outrebounded the Bison by a 38-37 margin, holding a 32-26 advantage on the defensive end, leading to eight fast break points.
Nichols is back in action on Saturday in a 3 p.m. CCC game at Western New England. Curry hosts Gordon Saturday in a 3 p.m. CCC game. (Game recap courtesy of Nichols Sports Information)
Game Statistics