DUDLEY, Mass. – Junior captain Irving Eggleston (East Lyme, Conn.) poured in a career-high 33 points to lead the Nichols College men's basketball team to a 76-49 win over Gordon College Thursday night in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) men's basketball action at the Nichols Athletic Center.
In 35 minutes of action, Eggleston knocked down six from three-point land, grabbed six boards, recorded four steals, and dished out two assists for the Bison, who ran their win streak to a program-record 11 while improving their conference-record start to 13-0 (16-4 overall).
Senior captain Matt Langadas (Sebago, Maine) and junior Gustave Koumare (Harlem, N.Y.) chipped in with 12 and 11 points, respectively, while junior captain Christian Horton (Rutland, Mass.) tallied nine points, a career-high eight assists, five rebounds, and four steals in 39 minutes. Once again, the Bison did a solid job protecting the basketball, committing just eight turnovers while forcing the Fighting Scots to commit 24, which led to 22 points.
Senior Hans Miersma (Whitinsville, Mass.) recorded a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds in 24 minutes for Gordon (8-12, 5-8 CCC), during which he also blocked five shots. Sophomore Dominic Paradis (Rochester, N.H.) went 6-of-10 from the floor and finished with a team-high 17 points.
The Bison got off to a sluggish start and found themselves trailing by six at 11-5 a shade over five minutes into the game. Senior Chris Johnson (Mansfield, Mass.) – who finished with five points, 10 rebounds, and three steals – sank a free throw to tie things up at 15 with 8:45 left in the first half.
A layup by Eggleston and a triple from Koumare – one of two he knocked down on the evening – helped the Bison open up a 22-17 lead at 5:59. They closed the half on a 7-0 run behind five from Eggleston and a three from sophomore Jared Thompson (Scituate, R.I.) to take an 11-point lead to the locker room (32-21). Neither school shot the ball particularly well in the opening stanza (Gordon – 33 percent; Nichols – 28 percent), and the Fighting Scots held a 26-24 edge on the glass. Eggleston led all scorers with 12 while freshman Jaren Yang (San Francisco, Calif.) paced Gordon with seven.
Miersma threw down a pair of dunks in the opening 6:46 of the second half to bring Gordon to within nine at 42-33. Nichols responded with a 9-0 run to open up an 18-point advantage, led by two layups from Eggleston and a three from Langadas. Horton's fast break layup at 7:16 extended the Bison lead to 21 points at 59-38 before Eggleston drained a three with 86 seconds left to make it a 28-point margin (76-48).
"Our kids were very excited to play tonight," said Nichols first-year head coach Tom Glynn. "The game meant a lot to them. Gordon is the defending conference champion and a very good basketball team. The first half was very tight. Irving Eggleston absolutely carried us with 33 points and six rebounds. He's becoming a very good leader for us."
Nichols hit on 39 percent of its shots and made 11 three-pointers. Gordon, meanwhile, rattled home 38 percent of its field goals and outrebounded the Bison 45-37.
The Bison host Western New England Saturday at 2 p.m. The Fighting Scots host Curry Saturday at 3 p.m.