BRISTOL, R.I. – The Nichols College men's basketball team rallied from a 15-point second-half deficit to earn a 73-68 win over Roger Williams University Wednesday night in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) opener for both.
Senior captain Matt Langadas (Sebago, Maine) led four student-athletes in double-figures with a game-high 20 points – 13 of which came in the second half – as the Bison overcame a 45-30 deficit to even their record at 3-3 (1-0 CCC). Junior captain Irving Eggleston (East Lyme, Conn.) filled the stat sheet with 13 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and five steals.
Nichols overcame a sluggish first half in which it shot 29 percent from the field and scored 21 points by canning 48 percent of its second-half field goal attempts (15-of-31) – including 42 percent from behind the arc – and more than doubling its first-half point total (52). The Bison turned 23 Hawks turnovers into 28 points and scored 19 points on the break.
Sophomore Andrew Waslik (Gainesville, Fla.) led the Hawks with 19 points while freshman Jaylen Jennings (Norwalk, Conn.) scored 15 points. Senior Ryan Palumbo (Warwick, R.I.) registered 11 points, nine assists, four rebounds, and three steals while playing a team-high 37 minutes.
The game was close early on, featuring two ties and three lead changes over the first 10 minutes of the contest. A jumper by Palumbo broke a 12-12 tie a sparked a 12-2 run for Roger Williams that helped send it to the locker room with a 30-21 lead. Palumbo led all scorers with eight while Langadas netted eight and junior Gustave Koumare (Harlem, N.Y.) had five points.
A layup by junior Leonard Atkinson (Nantucket, Mass.) at the 15:39 mark of the second half helped the Hawks open up a 15-point lead. However, the Bison continued to press the Hawks on defense and chip away at their deficit. Five-straight points from Eggleston – highlighted by a three-point play – got the Bison to within nine before triples from Langadas and junior Christian Horton (Rutland, Mass.) brought Nichols to within four (48-44) with 10:35 on the clock.
Two free throws from Koumare capped an 18-3 Nichols run and tied the game at 48. A layup and a three-pointer from Waslik put RWU back up five, but a layup from Koumare and a put-back drunk from senior Chris Johnson (Mansfield, Mass.) gave Nichols a 60-57 lead with 4:50 to go. The lead swelled to 10 courtesy of two Eggleston free throws with 48 seconds left.
Koumare finished his night with 16 points, five steals, four rebounds, and four assists. The Hawks closed the evening shooting 53 percent (27-of-51) but missed 12 of their 17 attempts from the charity stripe (35 percent). Nichols, meanwhile, rattled in 17 of its 25 attempts (68 percent).
The Bison open the home portion of their conference schedule on Saturday with a noon contest against Salve Regina. Roger Williams (2-5, 0-1 CCC) heads to Springfield, Mass. for a 3 p.m. contest at Western New England on Saturday.