WENHAM, Mass.—Nichols Men's Basketball scored seven points in the final 20 seconds to overcome the host Gordon Fighting Scots, 95-91, at the Bennett Center on Tuesday evening. Gordon trailed at halftime, but surged to take a large lead in the second half only to commit a few costly mistakes in the waning seconds. The Bison found enough magic at the end to win its 13th consecutive game in the Commonwealth Coast Conference.
Nichols improves to a CCC best 15-2 in conference play and 21-3 overall. Gordon hits another three-game skid entering the final regular season game of the season and sits at 11-13 overall. The Scots now dip to 8-9 in the conference.
The offensive prowess shown by the high-scoring Bison was on display very early on, but Gordon was able to hang tough with the favorites over the opening 10 minutes. Despite Nichols shooting lights out from behind the arch, Gordon was able to methodically use an inside-outside game to keep the game at 10-10 through almost five minutes of play.
However, Nichols scored 17 of the next 21 points in the contest, much of them coming from the deep ball.
Gordon would never get closer than seven points for the remainder of the half and Nichols held a comfortable 53-41 margin entering the intermission. The Bison scored a whopping 53 first-half points after totaling only 73 in the entire first meeting between the two schools.
The Scots turned the game on its heels in the second half, holding the suddenly quiet Nichols' offense to only 11 points through the first 10 minutes of the period. Gordon took advantage on the other end and eventually took a 67-64 lead entering the final stretch.
Gordon big run did not end there as the Scots capped off a 31-12 stretch when Jaren Yang (San Francisco, Calif.) laid a ball in on a fastbreak for a 74-65 lead.
Nichols lingered for the next four minutes, chipping away at Gordon's advantage little by little until the Bison took an 88-85 lead with 2:38 to go in regulation. The Scots battled back for two consecutiveGarrisson Duvivier (Brockton, Mass.) buckets to reclaim a one-point lead with less than two to go.
That lead held until the final 19 seconds of play. The Scots had several chances to extend the lead late, but failed to capitalize on the opportunities. Irving Eggleston (East Lyme, Conn.) hit two free throws with 19 seconds to put the Bison on top and Gordon turned the ball over on the next possession to give Nichols a three-point cushion.
Senior Richie Armand (Hempstead, N.Y.) nailed two free throws with five seconds remaining to draw the Scots back within one. After Marcos Echevarria (Lynn, Mass.) hit two more free chances, Gordon turned the ball over twice in the final five seconds to help Nichols preserve the lead for good.
For the Foes
- Eggleston led the Bison with 26 points and three steals while playing nearly the entire game.
- Devin Stallings (Waterbury, Conn.) would not be contained from behind the arch, making four of eight attempts to lead the Bison in that category.
- Echevarria only made three attempts from the floor, but converted nine of 10 free throws, many coming in clutch situations.
- Gustave Koumare (Harlem, N.Y.) hit both of his three points attempts and settled for 13 overall.
- Christian Horton (Rutland, Mass.) had a quietly solid game with eight assists, six rebounds and six points.
For the Scots
- Nichols could not stop freshman forward Duvivier. The rookie exploded for 34 points, 11 rebounds and a team-high two steals in the loss.
- Jake Hart (Allendale, N.J.) just missed a triple-double with nine points, nine assists and eight caroms in a season-high 33 minutes.
- Sam Johnson (Chatham, Mass.) came off the bench for the first time this season and had 12 points and 9 rebounds.
- Udoka Obiora (Boston, Mass.) tied his single-game high with nine points in potentially his final game at the Bennett Center. The senior forward also had three key blocks.
Quick Stats
- Gordon currently sits tied for fifth in the CCC with one game to play. Nichols locked up the top seed on Saturday.
- Duvivier topped his previous career high by seven points and became the first 30-point scorer since Alex Carnes '14 scored 39 against Roger Williams in January of 2013.
- Nichols has beaten the Scots four straight times dating back to the beginning of last season.
- Gordon tied a season-high with 35 made field goals.