WENHAM, Mass. – The Nichols College men's basketball team cruised to a 97-74 victory over Gordon College on Saturday afternoon in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action in Wenham, Mass.
 
The Bison improve to 16-3 overall and 10-2 in the CCC with the win, while Gordon dips to 12-7 and 8-4 in league games. Nichols returns home on Tuesday night when they host Curry College in a 7:30 p.m. matchup with the Colonels.
 
Senior Daequon Antoine scored 24 points, shooting 9-of-15 from the field and 6-of-11 from beyond the arc, with seven rebounds, four steals, and a pair of assists to lead the Bison. Junior Marcos Echevarria added 22 points of his own, including 18 in the second half, to go with five rebounds and four assists. Sophomore DeAnte Bruton added 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting with five rebounds, four assists, and a pair of steals, while classmate Tyler Dion chipped in 11 points.
 
Freshman Matt Morrow scored 10 points, with freshman Nate Tenaglia recording an all-around game with seven points, seven rebounds, and six assists. Sophomore Dakotah Nicoll had five points and six rebounds as well.
 
The Fighting Scots were led by a game-high 29 points from sophomore Eric Demers. Junior Garrison Duvivier added a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds to go with five blocks.
 
Gordon took an early 6-4 lead in the opening half before back-to-back triples from Dion sparked a 10-0 run to force a Fighting Scots timeout with Nichols in front 14-6 with 14:41 remaining. Gordon would climb back to 17-14, but a 17-2 run by the Bison capped by a pair of Echevarria free throws staked Nichols to a 34-16 advantage with 6:41 to play in the first half.
 
The Nichols lead grew to as many as 24 at 48-24 following a triple from Bruton with 2:39 remaining in the period. Gordon answered with a 10-0 run of its own, and Dion ended the stretch with a running jumper to give the Bison a 50-34 lead at the break.
 
The Fighting Scot carried the momentum into the second half as a three-pointer from sophomore Eric Demers cut the Nichols lead to 57-47 with 15:56 remaining. Nichols answered with a 24-4 run over the next five minutes of action to take a commanding 81-51 advantage. Daequon Antoine scored 11 points during the run, while Echevarria chipped in five of his own.
 
Gordon would get as close as 81-58 on a pair of Duvivier free throws, but an 8-0 run by Echevarria stretched the Nichols lead out to 89-58 with 8:18 remaining in the half to put the game away for good. The Nichols lead would grow to as many as 32, while Gordon would cut it to 23 in the closing seconds with the game already in hand.
 
The Bison shot 47.4% (37-of-78) from the field, 43.2% (16-of-37) from beyond the arc, and 58.3% (7-of-12) at the free throw line in the win. Gordon connected on 42.1% (24-of-57) of its shots, 38.1% (8-of-21) of its threes, and 90% (18-of-20) of its free throws. Nichols held a 42-33 advantage in rebounds, while committing just 11 turnovers to 20 for the Fighting Scots.
 
All-Time Series
The Bison and Fighting Scots have met 43 times dating back to 1978, and Nichols leads the all-time series, 24-19. Nichols has won eight-straight in the series including both games this season.