SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Junior Ryan Sheehan (North Attleboro, Mass.) scored 38 points for the second-straight contest to propel the Nichols College men's basketball team to a 100-92 win over Western New England University Saturday afternoon in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at the AHLC Field House.
Sophomore Matt Langadas (Casco, Maine) chipped in with 15 points and sophomore Jessy Michaud (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) tallied nine points, eight assists and four rebounds for Nichols, which avenged an early-season loss to the Golden Bears and improved to 11-7 (6-5 CCC). Sheehan, meanwhile, knocked down four 3-point field goals and was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line. As a result, he moved into eighth-place all-time in scoring at Nichols with 1,417 points.
Both teams shot the ball extremely well as the Bison hit on 54 percent of their field goal attempts while WNE shot at a 50 percent clip. The Golden Bears were a perfect 22-of-22 from the charity stripe while Nichols was 19-of-26 (73 pct.).
Western New England was able to erase all but one point off a sixteen-point halftime deficit, but a cold shooting streak in the final three minutes ended the Golden Bears comeback hopes. Senior guard and tri-captain Damon Alston finished the day with a career high 31 points on 12-of-22 shooting.
Sheehan - who went for 38 in a 119-112 win over Curry on Wednesday - showcased a wide variety of shots, including deep three-pointers, bank shots, and turnaround jumpers. His great shooting day was part of an overall impressive shooting performance put on by the Bison. They shot 54 percent in the first and second halves, compared to the Golden Bears 45 percent in the first and 55 percent in the second.
Western New England dug itself into a deep hole early when it was unable to break the Nichols full-court press, leading to several points off turnovers. Head coach Mike Theulen called a timeout six minutes into the game with the Golden Bears down 21-8 and trying to keep up with Nichols' dizzying up-tempo pace. Western New England was eventually able to settle down on offense and cut the lead down to eight, but just before the half, another Nichols run fueled by Sheehan pushed the margin back up to sixteen. The Bison led at halftime, 54-38.
The Golden Bears proved themselves willing and able to play Nichols' up-tempo style in the second half, and made several small runs to get within single digits. After a couple of jumpers by Musa Elsir, a Garey Allen three-pointer brought Western New England within one point, at 77-76, with six minutes to go in the game. The Golden Bears kept fighting and kept the game close until the final buzzer.
Nichols heads to Eastern Nazarene on Tuesday for a 7:30 p.m. contest. Western New England hosts Salve Regina on Tuesday.
Coaches vs. Cancer photo courtesy of Ken Cerino, Western New England; Story features contributions from WNE Sports Information