QUINCY, Mass. – Junior Gustave Koumare (Harlem, N.Y.) led four Nichols student-athletes in double-figures with 17 points in a 71-70 win at Eastern Nazarene College Tuesday night in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) men's basketball action.

Junior Christian Horton (Rutland, Mass.) registered 15 points, five assists, and four rebounds while senior captain Matt Langadas (Sebago, Maine) went for 13 points and eight rebounds. Junior captain Irving Eggleston (East Lyme, Conn.) chipped in with 11 points, five rebounds, and three assists.

The win extends Nichols' win streak to seven and keeps them a perfect 9-0 in conference play (12-4 overall). In the process, the Bison opened up a two-game lead over Eastern Nazarene and Endicott, who are tied for second place in the CCC at 7-2. Nichols is now 17-14 all-time against the Lions and has won four of the last seven meetings.

Junior Jaylen Owens (Johns Creek, Ga.) paced the Lions with 18 points on 8-of-18 shooting. Junior Justin Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) scored 12 points while junior Corey Doran (Fairfield, Calif.) racked up a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. The loss snaps the Lions five-game win streak.

The Bison opened the game on a 7-0 run. Eastern Nazarene cut its deficit to 16-15 on a jumper by Owens. The Lyons grabbed their first lead of the evening (19-18) with 10:10 on the clock as Christian Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) converted a pair of shots from the charity stripe.

The Bison responded with six-consecutive points to regain a five-point edge (24-19) with 8:16 left to play. The Lions narrowed the margin to one (31-30) as Owens found Jeremy Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) cutting to the hoop for a layup with 3:18 to go in the half. The guests capped off the first period on an 11-0 run to sport a 42-30 advantage at the midway point.

Owens paced the hosts with seven points at halftime while Doran added six points and Lynch chipped in with five. Eastern Nazarene connected on 42 percent of its field-goal attempts through 20 minutes of play and 33 percent of its attempts from behind the arc. Nichols shot 52 percent in the opening frame while sinking six treys on 15 efforts.

The Lions chalked up nine-straight points to trim the deficit to one point (58-57) with 7:45 on the clock, capped off by a three-pointer from Jeremy Wagner. Eastern Nazarene seized its first lead of the second half at 60-59 with 6:15 left to play as Justin Wagner drilled a trey, 60-59.

Nichols responded with five-consecutive points to reclaim a 64-60 advantage with 5:30 to go. The Bison extended their lead to six points as Horton sank the first of two free throws with 3:04 remaining.

After the two squads traded baskets, Jarman banked in a layup with 2:31 on the clock to pull the home side to within four, 71-67. The Lions drew an offensive charge to keep the score at 71-67 with 1:27 to go before Justin Wagner nailed a step-back triple after pump-faking to get his defender airborne, shrinking the margin to 71-70 with less than a minute left to play.

Nichols missed a layup on the ensuing possession and Eric Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) hauled in the key rebound. Eastern Nazarene held the ball for the final possession, where Justin Wagner's off-balance attempt from beyond the arc at the buzzer came up just short as time expired.

Nichols held a slim 38-37 edge on the glass and turned 19 ENC turnovers into 15 points. The Lions canned 42 percent of their three-point attempts (8-of-19). Each team registered 14 assists.

The Bison host Gordon Saturday at 2 p.m. in a rematch of last season's conference championship. The Lions head to Beverly, Mass. for a 1 p.m. contest with Endicott on Saturday.