NEWPORT, R.I. – The Nichols College men's basketball team cruised to a 93-67 victory at Salve Regina University on Thursday night in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action in Newport, R.I.
 
The Bison have posted five-straight wins to improve to 19-3 overall and 13-2 in the CCC, while Salve Regina falls to 9-13 and 6-9 in league games. The Bison will travel to Western New England University on Saturday afternoon for a 3:00 p.m. game and will try and avenge a 100-94 overtime loss to the Golden Bears back on January 6.
 
Junior Marcos Echevarria reached 20 points for the fifth-straight game to go with three steals to pace the Bison attack. Sophomore Tyler Dion connected on 6-of-8 three-pointers en route to 18 points and four rebounds, while classmate DeAnte Bruton added 16 points, four rebounds, four assists, and five steals.
 
Current CCC Rookie of the Week Matt Morrow hit all seven of his shots for 15 points to go with four rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a block. Freshman Nate Tenaglia chipped in nine points and four assists, with freshman Dakotah Nicoll pulling in a team-high six rebounds.
 
Senior Rodney Morton led the Seahawks with 15 points and six rebounds, while sophomore Gabe Granberry joined him in double-figures with 12 points and eight boards.
 
It was a back-and-forth start to the game as the Seahawks took an 8-5 lead with 15:40 remaining in the first half following a tip-in from Granberry. DeAnte Bruton put the Bison back in front 9-8 with a layup, which sparked an 8-2 run capped by a Tyler Dion triple that gave Nichols a 16-10 advantage. A three-point play from sophomore Jerome Cunningham extended the lead to 22-12, and a jumper from Matt Morrow staked the Bison to a 39-25 lead with 3:42 to play in the opening half.
 
A three from Nate Tenaglia kept it a 43-29 lead headed into the final minute of the period, and the Bison took a 43-30 lead into the half following a free throw from junior Kevin Mannix in the closing seconds.
 
Granberry would pull the Seahawks as close as 43-32 with a layup to open the second half, but the Bison would eventually build a 57-38 lead following a triple from Dion with 14:40 remaining. Salve Regina would answer with five-straight points, but a 7-0 run by the Bison pushed the lead out to 64-43 nearly four minutes later.
 
The Seahawks would only get as close as 66-52 as the Nichols lead would grow to as many as 34 following a layup from junior Ariff McLaren, and the Bison would roll to the 93-67 victory.
 
Nichols shot a blistering 55.6% (35-of-63) from the field, including 41.9% (13-of-31) from beyond the arc, and 76.9% (10-of-13) from the free throw line in the win. Salve Regina connected on 41.5% (27-of-65) of its shots, while hitting 35.3% (6-of-17) of its three-pointers, and 53.8% (7-of-13) of its free throws. The Seahawks won the battle on the glass, 43-29, but committed 18 turnovers to just eight for the Bison.
 
All-Time Series
Nichols and Salve Regina have met 53 times in the series dating back to 1982, and the Bison hold a 28-25 lead all-time. The Bison have won 11-straight in the matchup since 2014.