DUDLEY, Mass. – Trailing by as many as 12 in the second half, the Nichols College men's basketball team rallied to eke out an 82-79 win over Roger Williams University on Saturday night in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action in Dudley, Mass.
 
The Bison have now won five-straight to improve to 14-2 overall and 8-1 in the CCC, while Roger Williams has dropped four-straight to fall to 11-6 and 5-5 in league games. Nichols returns to action on Monday night when they travel to the University of New England for a 6:00 p.m. game that was postponed from January 4.
 
Junior Marcos Echevarria struggled from the field, but connected on 13-of-14 free throws to lead the Bison with 22 points, four rebounds, six assists, and a pair of steals. Senior Daequon Antoine added 18 points, six rebounds, and two steals, while sophomore DeAnte Bruton chipped in 14 points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Classmates Tyler Dion added 10 points, with Jerome Cunningham pulling in a game-high 13 rebounds to go with nine points and a pair of blocks.
 
Freshman Nate Tenaglia added five points and a pair of assists, while freshman Matt Morrow added four points and six rebounds.
 
Roger Williams was led by 25 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists from junior Austin Coene. Senior Conor O'Brien added a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds, while senior Jaylen Jennings added 14 points and four rebounds. Senior Nick Marini rounded out the top scorers with 12 points, four rebounds, and six assists.
 
The Bison shot 41.9% (26-of-62) from the field, 36.8% (7-of-19) from beyond the arc, and 76.7% (23-of-30) at the free throw line in the win. Roger Williams shot a blistering 50.9% (29-of-57) from the field, including 54.2% (13-of-24) of its three-pointers, but could only hit 42.1% (8-of-19) of its free throws in the defeat. The Bison held a slight 40-36 advantage in rebounding, while committing only 10 turnovers to 13 for the Hawks.
 
Nichols trailed for the first 13:05 of the game as the Hawks were able to build a 26-20 advantage following a layup from O'Brien with 9:10 remaining. Nichols chipped away, and Echevarria knocked down a pair of threes and Bruton scored inside to make it an 8-2 run and tie the game at 28-28 with 6:55 to play. Echevarria gave the Bison their first lead of the game with a pair of free throws at the 6:05 mark, but an 11-2 run by the Hawks put the visitors in front 39-32 with 2:07 to play in the half.
 
A triple from Dion stopped the run and cut into the lead, but the Hawks answered with five-straight points before Echevarria ended the half with a pair of free throws to make it a 44-37 Roger Williams lead headed into the break.
 
Five quick points by the Hawks opened the second half as they took their largest lead of the game at 49-37 with 17:57 remaining. The Bison answered with a 9-1 run, including six points from Echevarria, to climb to within 50-46; and back-to-back layups by Antoine followed by a score inside from Morrow capped a 15-3 run by Nichols to tie the game at 52-52 with 13:39 to play.
 
Roger Williams responded again with five-quick points, but a three from Bruton followed by a three-point play from Antoine put Nichols back in front 58-57. Six-straight points from freshman JJ Pfohl gave Roger Williams the lead back at 63-58, and an 8-0 run by Nichols, including six points from Antoine, gave the Bison a 66-63 advantage with 5:52 to play. Cunningham kept Nichols ahead 70-66 with a layup, and the teams traded three-pointers until a pair of free throws from Echevarria staked the Bison to a 75-72 lead with 2:18 to play.
 
Pfohl knotted the game with a three-pointer on the next possession before Nate Tenaglia knocked down 3-of-4 free throws over the next two possessions to give the Bison a 78-75 lead. After a stop by the Bison, Cunningham spun home a layup that beat the shot clock to give Nichols its largest lead of the game at 80-75 and only 35 seconds remaining.
 
Nick Marini buried a three in the corner to cut the Nichols lead to 80-78, and after Echevarria went 1-for-2 at the line, junior Jake Heaton was fouled taking a three with the Hawks only down 81-78 and seven seconds remaining. Heaton missed the first two free throws before knocking down the third, and the Hawks were forced to foul to extend the game.
 
Bruton went 1-for-2 at the line to make it an 82-79 game, and luckily for the home team, Marini's half court heave in the closing seconds caromed off the backboard and the rim to help the Bison to the three-point victory.
 
All-Time Series
Nichols and Roger Williams met for the 51st time on Saturday and the Bison hold a 30-21 advantage in the series. Nichols has won 10-straight in the series dating back to 2013.