Nichols 90, Thomas (ME) 76
Dudley, Mass. – Nichols Athletic Center
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
All-Time Series & Streaks
Tonight's contest marked the first-ever meeting between Nichols College and Thomas (ME) College. The Bison now lead the series, 1-0.
Three Stars of the Game
1 – Thomas (ME) junior Tyheen Simon (Far Rockaway, N.Y.) – scored a game-high 28 points on 10-of-12 shooting (83.3 pct.) and 6-of-8 from the line; also snared six rebounds
2 – Nichols senior Irving Eggleston (East Lyme, Conn.) – led the Bison with 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting (60.0 pct.) and also collected six boards, five assists, and four steals
3 – Nichols freshman Marcos Echevarria (Lynn, Mass.) – knocked down five 3-pointers and finished with 21 points; posted three steals and made 6-of-7 from the line
Quick Synopsis
The Bison struggled from the field all night but saw Eggleston and Echevarria combine to score 45 points and gudie them past the Terriers, who shot 57 percent from the floor (29-of-51). Nichols took 23 more shots than Thomas (ME) and finished the evening shooting 42 percent (31-of-74), but made 12 three-pointers.
Key Stat of the Game
The Terriers committed 28 turnovers which led to 29 Nichols points.
Turning Point
With the Bison clinging to a one-point lead (73-72) with 4:35 remaining in the second half, the Bison scored nine of the next 10 points to open up an 82-73 lead. Junior Devin Stallings (Waterbury, Conn.) knocked down a jumper before Echevarria was fouled taking a three and made all three from the charity stripe. Stallings then rattled home a three off a feed from Echevarria before Eggleston made -1of-2 from the line.
Quick Hits
-Junior Brandon Marshall (Hartford, Conn.) made his presence felt with 10 points, five rebounds, two steals and two blocks in 18 minutes off the bench for Nichols.
-Nichols committed just 10 turnover – three of which came in the second half.
-Thomas (ME) senior Levi Barnes (Skowhegan, Maine) filled the stat sheet with 15 points and two blocks in 25 minutes but also committed six turnovers.
-Nichols senior Christian Horton (Rutland, Mass.) grabbed 10 rebounds to go along with seven assists, four steals, and two blocks. Junior Ian King (Westbrook, Maine) led the Terriers with six dimes.
-Stallings closed the night with 10 points, highlighted by a pair of triples.
-Both schools shot over 70 percent from the line (NC: 73 percent; TC: 77 percent).
Quotes
"That's a very good Thomas College team. They dictated the tempo and controlled the game. They are a great defensive team. In the final four minutes, we simply made more shots than they did. We're very fortunate to win tonight and move to 2-0 as we hit the road for the first time on Thursday. We have to tighten up our rotations on defense and get our offense a little tighter. We have to be crisp because we're playing a really good Daniel Webster team that is 1-0." – Nichols head coach Tom Glynn
"Thomas switched the defense on us all night. Sometimes they played a 3-2, sometimes a 2-3. They gave us different looks. At times, we didn't know what to run, but we settled down and figured out which sets to run. I was trying to be aggressive. Coach told me to keep attacking the rim. I had some success in the first half and I just wanted to keep that going throughout the game. I wanted to get some guys open shots, and towards the end, they made them." – Nichols senior Irving Eggleston
Next up
Nichols (2-0) – Thursday, November 19 @ Daniel Webster, 7:00 p.m.
Thomas (0-2) – Saturday, November 21 vs Maine – Fort Kent, 5:00 p.m.