BEVERLY, Mass. - Junior Ryan Sheehan (North Attleboro, Mass.) led six Nichols College student-athletes in double-figures with 27 points as the Bison broke the school record for points with a 130-106 win over Endicott College in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action Tuesday night at MacDonald Gymnasium.

Sophomore Marlon Bennett (Stratford, Conn.) added 18 points – including four 3-pointers - for the Bison (6-5, 1-3 CCC), who picked up their first conference win of the season in record-setting fashion. The Bison - who led 72-58 at the half - broke the previous record of 126 points against New England College in Dudley on February 12, 2001.

Senior Justin Kuntz (Wallingford, Conn.) and sophomore Matt Langadas (Casco, Maine) each netted 17 points as Nichols tied the school-record for three-pointers made with 17 (seven different student-athletes drained at least one) en route to shooting a season-high 64 percent from the field. Sophomore guard Jessy Michaud (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) scored 16 points and led the team in assists with five. 

The combined score of 236 was the most total points between two teams in Endicott men's basketball history, eclipsing the previous record of 212 set after a 108-104 Gulls loss to Gordon back on February 2, 1998. The Bison also tied a season-high with 24 assists.

Behind a career-high 33 points from sophomore guard John Henault (Lunenburg, Mass.), the Gulls managed to shoot 48.8 percent (40-of-82) as a team - including 43.5 percent (10-of-23) from three-point range. Henault was electric in the first half, scoring 19 of his 33 points and helping the Gulls to trim an early 22-point deficit down to as little as six before settling on a 72-58 halftime disadvantage.

Henault also finished the game tied with teammate senior Lance Greene (Dorchester, Mass.) with five assists. Greene also contributed offensively with 15 points and forced Nichols to turn the ball over six times.

Endicott freshman guard Dan Powers (Westwood, Mass.) score a season-high 18 points on 5-of-9 from the floor and 6-of-7 at the free throw line. Powers added four rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Seeing action for the first time in an Endicott uniform, sophomore forward Tell White (New Castle, N.H.) played a strong game off the bench, scoring 11 points and grabbing seven boards - including four on the offensive glass.

Tied 14-14 in the first half, Nichols rattled off 14-straight points to take a commanding 28-14 advantage with just 6:30 into the game. The Bison went up by as many as 22 points in the opening stanza at 42-20 but Endicott fought to get back in the game, cutting its opponent lead down to 50-44 with 5:42 remaining in the half.

In the second half, Endicott battled to once again pull within six points at 84-78 at the 15:32 mark, but Nichols used strong three-point shooting to put its lead well into the double digits. The Bison went 10-of-18 from beyond the arc in the second half and built their lead to as large as 28 points before settling on a 24-point road victory.

Nichols held a slim 41-36 rebounding advantage, but Endicott was aggressive on the boards, grabbing 16 offensive rebounds which led to 22 second-chance points. The Nichols bench outscored Endicott 51-27, and the Bison used an effective fast-break offense to outscore the Gulls 28-6 in that category.

Nichols hosts Eastern Nazarene Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Endicott begins a three-game, conference road stretch starting on Thursday, January 10 against Wentworth. Tip-off is at 7:30 pm at the Nelson Recreation Center. 

Contributions from Endicott sports information