BEVERLY, Mass. (1/9/23) –  The Nichols College men's basketball team held off Endicott College for a close 72-67 road win in Commonwealth Coast Conference action on Tuesday night at MacDonald Gymnasium.  

Nichols extends its win streak to five consecutive games and improves to 11-3 (5-1 CCC) overall. Endicott drops to 10-4 (5-1 CCC), with the loss being their first in-conference setback this season.

Senior Tavon Jones recorded his second double-double in as many games following a 16-point, 13-rebound performance to lead the way for the Bison. For the fifth consecutive game, junior Dominic Mello scored in double-figures by also chalking-up 16 points in the effort, which paired nicely with a team-high three steals. Mykel Derring and Deshaun Nettles each contributed 12 points, while freshman Jason Ofcarcik reeled in 12 rebounds. Both the offense and defense came to play for the Bison, as they completed the night shooting 43.3% (26-of-60) from the field while also holding the Gulls to just 14.3% (3-of-21) success from behind the arc.

The first half went back and forth and saw four ties and four lead changes. From a 15-15 draw, the Gulls powered ahead with an 8-0 run to claim a 23-15 lead over the Bison, but saw it dissipate as Nichols countered with a 9-2 run, bringing the score to 25-24 Endicott. Shortly after with 2:11 left in the half, freshman Simon Percy gave the Bison back the lead at 28-27 on a made three-pointer, but saw it matched on the next Gulls possession. Through the final two minutes of the half, the Gulls outscored the Bison by an 8-5 margin, but held a slim two-point lead at halftime by a 35-33 score.  

Nate Duckworth hit a jumper just 00:19 into the second half to tie the game, which then kicked off a period of furious scoring for both sides as they combined for 24 points in a four-minute span. With the Bison now in the lead 49-43, the Gulls would fail to take the lead back from the Bison the rest of the way through. At the 7:33 mark, Nichols would see its largest lead of the contest at 10 points thanks to a layup by Jones. The difference ultimately proved costly for the Gulls, with Nichols emerging victorious by the 72-67 score.  

Nichols will wrap up their three-game road trip as they head to Boston this coming Saturday, January 13^th with a matchup at Suffolk University (7-6, 4-3 CCC) at 3:00 PM.