Interactive Tournament Bracket

DUDLEY, Mass. – The Nichols College men's basketball team has earned the No. 1 seed in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship Tournament and will host No. 8 Western New England in the Quarterfinal Round Tuesday night, February 25 at 7 p.m. at the Nichols Athletic Center.

The Bison won a program-record 20 games this season against only five losses while posting a 16-2 mark in conference play; the 16 wins are believed to be a single-season conference record. They reeled off a school-record 10-game win streak earlier this season and enter the playoffs winners of five-straight and 15 of their last 16 games.

Senior Ryan Sheehan (North Attleboro, Mass.) leads the Bison in scoring at 18.2 ppg and recently became just the second student-athlete in school history to reach the 2,000-point plateau for his career. Classmate Sam Horning (Falmouth, Maine) is averaging a career-high 9.8 ppg and scored the go-ahead basket with 3.8 seconds remaining in Saturday's one-point win at Wentworth – the Bison's 20th of the season.

Junior Joe Gallant (Salem, N.H.) is averaging 4.7 ppg and 5.7 rpg as the starting big man for second-year head coach Jeff Lindgren, and he established a single-season record for blocks (45) this season. Sophomores Jalen Hurst (Hartford, Conn.) (7.5 ppg, 48.5 field goal pct.) and Christian Horton (Rutland, Mass.) (5.5 ppg, 2.5 apg, 50.0 field goal pct.) round out the starting five.

Nichols 'second line' consists of Horning, juniors Chris Johnson (Marshfield, Mass.), Marlon Bennett (Stratford, Conn.), and Matt Langadas (Sebago, Maine), and sophomore Gustave Koumare (Harlem, N.Y.). Bennett averages 8.8 ppg and knocks down 40.0 pct. of his three-point field goals while Langadas goes for 7.9 ppg and 3.1 rpg and Johnson averages 3.7 ppg and 2.9 rpg. Koumare (7.8 ppg, 2.4 apg), meanwhile, poured in a career-high 24 points at Wentworth on Saturday and comes in shooting 53.3 pct. from the field and 80.6 pct. from the charity stripe.

The Golden Bears bring a 7-17 mark (5-13 CCC) mark into the tournament and are led by senior Dennis Rinaldi (Harrison, N.Y.) in both scoring (14.8 ppg) and rebounding (9.8 rpg). Classmate Nick DeFeo (Southington, Conn.) is next at 11.8 ppg.

Nichols leads the all-time series with Western New England, 17-12, and has won three-straight and 11 of the last 15 meetings. The Bison are looking to advance to the semifinal round for the second time in three years.

In other quarterfinal action, No. 2 Eastern Nazarene hosts No. 7 Wentworth, No. 3 Gordon entertains Roger Williams, and No. 4 Salve Regina welcomes No. 5 Endicott.