DUDLEY, Mass. – The Nichols College men's basketball team has advanced to the Semifinal round of the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Tournament and will host No. 5 Wentworth Thursday night at 7 p.m. at the Nichols Athletic Center.

The Bison – who earned the No. 1 seed for the fourth-consecutive season – defeated No. 8 UNE 89-71 Tuesday night behind 25 points from both sophomore Marcos Echevarria (Lynn, Mass.) and freshman DeAnte Bruton (New London, Conn.). The win ran the Bison's win streak to nine and gave them 21 wins on the season – the third-highest mark in program history.

The top-seeded Bison are led in scoring by Echevarria at 23.4 ppg. The CCC Player of the Year ranks 10th in the NCA in scoring and No. 1 in three-pointers (120). Bruton – the conference's Rookie of the Year – averages 21.5 ppg and has been named CCC Rookie of the Week on eight occasions this season. Freshman Jerome Cunningham (Westbury, N.Y.) is averaging 12.0 ppg, 14.7 rpg, and 4.0 bpg in his last three contests, and has six double-doubles this season. He's snared 10+ rebounds in 10 contests in 2016-17.

The Leopards – who knocked off No. 4 Gordon 82-75 in the Quarterfinals – enter the contest with a 14-12 mark and are riding a three-game winning streak. Junior and CCC Second Team pick Jason Ganley (Northbridge, Mass.) leads the team in scoring at 13.0 ppg, followed by senior Dan DeVaux (Wethersfield, Conn.) at 13.0 ppg.  Against the Fighting Scots, Ganley led five student-athletes in scoring with 13 points while DeVaux – a CCC Third Team selection – chipped in with 13 points.

Thursday's contest will mark the 46th all-time meeting between the Leopards and Bison, and third this season. The team's split the season series, giving Wentworth a slim 23-22 edge heading into Thursday's showdown. Nichols has won seven of the last eight meetings, however the last time these two met in the playoffs, the No. 3 seed Leopards pulled out a 73-69 win in the Quarterfinals on February 19, 2013.  

Earlier this season, Nichols dealt Wentworth an 80-67 loss behind 35 points from Echevarria and 23 from Bruton in Dudley on December 3. Six weeks later, the Leopards held Echevarria to seven points on 1-of-12 shooting in a 71-55 triumph in Boston. Bruton averaged 22.5 points against WIT this season while Echevarria went for 21.0 ppg (14-of-15 free throws) and Cunningham averaged 8.5 rebounds. Ganley, meanwhile, averaged 13.5 ppg, followed by freshman Stephen Azums (Hyde Park, Mass.) at 12.5 ppg.

In other the CCC Semifinal, No. 2 Endicott hosts No. 6 Eastern Nazarene Thursday night. The Gulls knocked off No. 7 Salve Regina on Tuesday to advance while the No. 6 seed Lions upset No. 3 Roger Williams.