DUDLEY, Mass. – Sophomore Marcos Echevarria (Lynn, Mass.) made 14-of-16 from the charity stripe and finished with a game-high 24 points as the Nichols College men's basketball team downed Roger Williams University 93-81 Wednesday night in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at the Nichols Athletic Center.

Senior Devin Stallings (Waterbury, Conn.) and freshman DeAnte Bruton (New London, Conn.) each dropped in 15 points for the Bison, who shot 55 percent from the field and 86 percent from the line. Freshman Jerome Cunningham (Westbury, N.Y.) notched 12 points, eight boards, one block, one assist, and one steal for NC.

Junior Conor O'Brien (Sharon, Mass.) was one of four Hawks in double-figures in scoring with 16 points (7-of-9 FG), followed by sophomore Austin Coene (Tyngsborough, Mass.) with 13 points to go with six boards, four dimes, and two steals. Roger Williams canned 48 percent of its shots but struggled from the charity stripe, making just nine of their 17 attempts (53 percent).

Roger Williams built an early four-point lead (16-12) behind eight points from O'Brien. Nichols answered with a 19-6 run to move in front by nine (31-22) as Bruton scored seven and Echevarria chipped in with six. A layup from Cunningham and a triple from junior Daequon Antoine (Fort Mill, S.C.) helped the Bison extend the lead to 15 at halftime. O'Brien led all scorers with 11 which Echevarria finished with 10 points. Both teams shot the ball well as Nichols knocked down 57 percent of its shot and the Hawks rattled home 45 percent of their attempts.

The Hawks cut their deficit to 10 at the 3:33 into the second half and again at the 15:02 mark before triples from Echevarria and senior Nate Tardy (Moodus, Conn.) helped Nichols push its lead to 15. Stallings threw down a dunk off a feed from Cunningham with 6:55 to go and made the and-1 free throw to put the Bison ahead 77-61 with 6:55 on the clock. Echevarria followed with a three to make it a 19-point game and the lead never fell below single digits the rest of the way.

Nichols held a 35-30 edge on the glass and overcame 20 turnovers to hand the Hawks their second loss of the season.

All-Time Series
Tonight's contest marks the 48th all-time meeting between Nichols College and Roger Williams University. The Bison ran their win streak over the Hawks to seven and now lead the series, 27-21. 

Next Games
Nichols (3-2, 1-0 CCC) – Saturday, December 3 vs Wentworth, 12:00 p.m.
Roger Williams (4-2, 0-1 CCC) – Saturday, December 3 vs Curry, 3:00 p.m.