NEWTON, Mass. – The Nichols College men's basketball team rallied from a small halftime deficit to outscore Lasell College 51-37 in the second half on the way to a 91-80 victory over the Lasers on Saturday afternoon in non-conference action in Newton, Mass.

Junior Marcos Echevarria poured in a game-high 28 points, including 6-of-9 three-pointers, to go with four assists and two steals and two rebounds to lead Nichols. Sophomore DeAnte Bruton added 24 points, knocking down 11-of-14 free throws, while Jerome Cunningham just missed a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds as did senior Daequon Antoine with 10 points and nine boards.

Lasell was paced by 20 points and four rebounds from sophomore Stefan Masciarelli, while senior Dannie Moore chipped in 17 points and eight rebounds. Junior Brandon Vila recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, with junior Tim Blair adding 14 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Nichols jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, but the Lasers answered with a 7-2 run to take a 7-6 edge with 16:46 remaining in the opening half. The teams traded baskets until it was tied 9-9, but Lasell used a 12-0 run to take a 21-9 advantage and force a Nichols timeout with 11:49 to play.

Trailing 23-10, this time the Bison used a run as a layup from junior Josiah Kimball capped an 8-0 run and cut the deficit to 23-18 nearly three minutes later. The two teams traded baskets over the next few minutes until a 7-0 run by Nichols put the Bison back in front 35-33 with 3:19 remaining. Lasell would eventually build their lead back to six at 41-35 with less than a minute to play, but the Bison scored the final five points of the period to trail 43-40 at the break.

Nichols came out firing in the second half as five-straight points from Daequon Antoine staked the Bison to a 63-54 advantage with 12:53 remaining. Lasell answered again with a 12-2 run to take the lead back at 66-65 with less than eight minutes to play, and DeAnte Bruton knocked down two freebies to put the Bison back in front 67-66.

Marcos Echevarria had seen enough and went on a personal 9-0 run on a triple, a four-point play, and a pair of free throws following a Lasell technical to stretch the lead back to 76-66 and force a Lasell timeout with 5:47 to play. This time it was Bruton who took over the game, outscoring Lasell 10-5 over the next two-plus minutes to put the Bison in front 86-71.

The Lasers would get as close as 89-78 with 1:15 to play, but the Nichols lead was too much to overcome as the Bison held on for the 91-80 victory.

Both teams shot exactly 49.2% (30-of-61) from the field and each team connected on nine three-pointers apiece. The difference in the game came at the charity stripe as Nichols went 22-of-31 (71%) from the free throw line compared to 11-of-15 (73.3%) from the home team. Lasell controlled the glass, outrebounding Nichols 39-29, while the Bison committed only five turnovers to 14 for the Lasers.

All-Time Series
Saturday's game marked the 11th meeting between the programs and Nichols took a 7-4 advantage in the series with the win. The Bison have won the last three matchups including two-straight in Newton, Mass.

Next Games
Nichols (2-0) – Tuesday, Nov. 21 at Wesleyan, 7:00 p.m.
Lasell (0-2) – Monday, Nov. 20 vs. Brandeis, 7:00 p.m.