SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Freshman DeAnte Bruton (New London, Conn.) tied his career-high with 36 points to lift the Nichols College men's basketball team to a 94-88 win over Western New England University Tuesday night in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.
 
The reigning CCC Rookie of the Week knocked down five 3-pointers to go with four assists and four rebounds. Sophomore Marcos Echevarria (Lynn, Mass.) went 11-of-12 from the charity stripe and finished with 25 points, six boards and five dimes while freshman Tyler Dion (Barre, Mass.) chipped in with 13 points. The Bison turned the ball over just eight times and made 45 percent of their shots.
 
Sophomore Mikey Pettway (Bridgeport, Conn.) matched Bruton with 36 points and also notched eight rebounds and seven assists to pace the Golden Bears. He canned 15-of-27 from the field (56 percent) in 38 minutes. Senior Mike McCourt (Lincoln, R.I.) went for 11 points, six rebounds, and three assists while graduate student Luis Agrait (South Hadley, Mass.) scored 13 points. Western New England made 47 percent of its shots and outrebounded the Bison 40-38.
 
With the game tied at 34 with just over six minutes to go in the first half, the Bison ripped off a 20-8 run to close the half and take a 54-42 lead to the locker room. Nichols shot 49 percent in the first half and was led by Bruton with 21 points. Echevarria was a perfect 5-of-5 from the line and scored 11. Agrait and senior Daniel Silva (Seekonk, Mass.) each scored 11 for the Golden Bears.
 
Pettway came alive in the second half, scoring 26 of his team's 46 points, however the Bison held a double-digit lead for all but 56 seconds during the first 15 minutes of the second half. Trailing by 14 points with 6:41 on the clock, the Golden Bears scored 13 of the next 15 points to make it an 87-84 game with 3:29 to go. Four free throws from Echevarria and a dunk from senior Devin Stallings (Waterbury, Conn.) helped the Bison hold off the late WNE charge.
 
Stallings finished his evening with eight points and six rebounds.
 
All-Time Series
Tonight's contest marked the 36th all-time meeting between Nichols College and Western New England University. The win runs the Bison's win streak against the Golden Bears to three, and they now lead the series, 23-13.
 
Next Games
Nichols (5-2, 3-0 CCC) – Thursday, December 8 @ Newbury, 7:00 p.m.
Western New England (1-6, 0-3 CCC) – Thursday, December 8 @ Connecticut College, 8:00 p.m.