DUDLEY, Mass. – Freshman DeAnte Bruton (Waterbury, Conn.) led five student-athletes in double figures in scoring with 30 points as the Nichols College men's basketball team defeated Westfield State 117-90 in non-conference men's basketball action Tuesday night at the Nichols Athletic Center.
Freshman center Jerome Cunningham (Westbury, N.Y.) filled the stat sheet with 15 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and three blocks in 28 minutes while sophomore Marcos Echevarria (Lynn, Mass.) netted 20 points and junior Daequon Antoine (Fort Mill, S.C.) chipped in with 13 points, five rebounds, and three assists.
Senior Jesus Sanchez (Springfield, Mass.) led the Owls with 24 points to go along with seven boards and three dimes. Senior Evan Hopson (Providence, R.I.) and junior Allister Williams (Boston, Mass.) each scored 12 points as the Owls shot 51 percent from the field.
The Bison opened up an early 11-point following a three from Echevarria 5:30 into the contest, then extended the lead to 21 on a triple from Antoine at 12:19. The lead swelled to 24 when senior Devin Stallings (Waterbury, Conn.) made two free throws at 7:58 and 33 on a dunk by Cunningham at the 3:17 mark. Nichols knocked down 51 percent of its first-half shot – including 12-of-27 from downtown (44 percent) and outrebounded the Owls 26-17. Sanchez and Williams led Westfield State with 10 each.
Nichols held a 30-point lead for all but 1:08 of the second half despite the Owls shooting 59 percent from the floor (24-of-41) in that stanza. The Bison, meanwhile, attempted a school-record 50 three-pointers, shattering the previous mark of 43 set against Salve Regina on November 16, 2014.
Sophomore Josiah Kimball (Saint Johnsbury, Vt.) scored a career-high eight points (3-of-4 FG) and snared four rebounds. Stallings finished with 12 points and five rebounds.
All-Time Series
Tonight's contest marked the 26th all-time meeting between Westfield State and Nichols College. The win extends the Bison's win streak in the series to four but they still trail, 17-9.
Next Games
Nichols (2-1) – Monday, November 28 vs Becker, 7:00 p.m.
Westfield St. (1-2) – Tuesday, November 29 @ Amherst, 7:00 p.m.