Recap
Junior Matt Morrow collected 17 points and 20 rebounds in No. 6 Nichols College's 66-58 win at Trinity (CT) College Sunday afternoon in non-conference men's basketball action at Oosting Gymnasium.
Senior captain and leading scorer DeAnte Bruton played all 40 minutes and filled the stat sheet with 16 points and seven rebounds. Junior Nate Tenaglia was the only other Nichols student-athlete to reach double-figures as he netted 12 points to go with five boards.
The Bantams (4-3) raced out to a 16-2 lead and took a 29-25 lead to the locker room. They shot 43 percent in the opening stanza and were led by Nick Seretta with seven points. Morrow, meanwhile, sank five of his 11 first-half shot attempts and led NC with 11 points.
Trinity continued to lead through the first 10 minutes of the second half before a layup by senior Kash Jackson knotted the score at 47 with 9:02 on the clock. Less than three minutes later, sophomore Jaekwon Spencer put the Bison ahead for the first time all afternoon (51-50) with a layup at 6:58.
Nichols led by six with 2:34 remaining in regulation following a pair of free throws from Bruton, but a three-point play from Seretta tied the game at 58 with 1:23 to go. Bruton was fouled on the ensuing possession and sank both to give NC a 60-58 lead. The Bantams missed their shot at the other end of the floor and Morrow's put-back layup with 29 ticks on the clock pushed the NC lead to four. Tengalia then knocked down four free throws in the final seconds to secure the win.
Seretta finished with a team-high 14 points for Trinity.
Three things you need to know…
-Today's contest marked the 23rd all-time meeting between Nichols College and Trinity (CT) College. The Bison have won three-straight and four of the last five against the Bantams, and now lead the series 12-11.
-Morrow – who recorded 17 double-doubles last season – has three through the season's first five games in 2019-20. He also added two blocks and now has four this season, which is double the amount he collected all last season.
-The two schools combined to shoot 8-of-43 from three-point range (18.6 pct.).
Quote
"That was a gritty and hard-fought victory. Our team's collective character was on full display. We were able to battle adversity at various points of the game and rely on our defense to bring us home." –Nichols head coach Brandon Linton
Next game
Wednesday, December 4 vs Wentworth, 7:30 p.m.