SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Nichols College junior Marcos Echevarria poured in a game-high 29 points to lead the men's basketball team to a 73-61 victory at Western New England University on Saturday afternoon in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action in Springfield, Mass.
 
Echevarria added five rebounds and three assists on the day as Nichols improved to 20-3 overall, its fifth-straight 20-win season, and 14-2 in the CCC. With the win and Gordon's 93-88 setback to Eastern Nazarene on Saturday, the Bison clinched the top seed in the upcoming CCC Tournament, and they host Eastern Nazarene College on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m.
 
Sophomore Jerome Cunningham joined Echevarria in double-figures with 16 points and eight rebounds, while classmate DeAnte Bruton notched a double-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, and four steals. Senior Daequon Antoine chipped in 10 points and four rebounds, while sophomore Tyler Dion scored five points and freshman Dakotah Nicoll pulled down five rebounds.
 
Freshman Zach Tavitian led the Golden Bears (10-13, 6-10 CCC) with 18 points, six rebounds, and three blocks, while junior Mikey Pettway added 12 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Sophomore Mike McGuire rounded out the leading scorers with 10 points and five rebounds.
 
Western New England scored the opening basket of the game on a layup by Tavitian, and Nichols answered with the next eight points to take an 8-2 lead following a pair of free throws from Jerome Cunningham. After back-to-back buckets by the Golden Bears trimmed it to an 8-6 lead, a layup from Antoine followed by a triple from Echevarria put the Bison on top 13-6 and forced a Western New England timeout with just over 14 minutes to play.
 
Another three from Echevarria extended the lead to 19-9, and two more free throws from Cunningham put the Bison in front 23-13 at the 9:14 mark. Western New England would answer with an 11-4 run to climb back to 27-24, and Echevarria ended the run with a three-point play to make it a 30-24 game. The two teams traded baskets the rest of the half, and Nichols clung to a 39-38 advantage at the break.
 
The back-and-forth battle continued into the second half until a three from Echevarria and a layup inside from Cunningham put Nichols in front 48-42 and forced a Western New England timeout with 17:42 to play. The Golden Bears converted back-to-back triples to tie the game at 48-all before freshman Matt Morrow and Echevarria hit two-straight jumpers to keep the Bison in front 54-48.
 
Pettway cut the Nichols lead to 56-53 with a layup and 9:29 to play, and a layup from Alex Sikorski pulled the home team to 60-59 nearly two minutes later. Bruton answered with a tough runner in the lane to push the lead back to 62-59, and a three from Echevarria put Nichols back on top, 65-61. A tough layup from Daequon Antoine, followed by a three-point play from Echevarria staked the Bison to a 70-61 advantage with 1:51 remaining.
 
The Nichols defense continued to get stops, and Echevarria knocked down a big-time three-pointer with 1:16 to seal the game and put the Bison in front 73-61. Nichols would end up holding the Golden Bears scoreless over the final 5:18 of action to pull away for the conference victory.
 
The Bison shot 45% (27-of-60) from the field, including 29.6% (8-of-27) from beyond the arc, and 91.7% (11-of-12) of their free throws. Western New England shot 40.3% (25-of-62) from the floor, hitting 21.7% (5-of-23) of its threes, and 60% (6-of-10) of its free throws. Nichols controlled the glass, outrebounding the home team 40-28, but committed 13 turnovers to just 10 for the Golden Bears.
 
All-Time Series
The Bison and Golden Bears have met 39 times since the series began in 1954 and Nichols leads the all-time series, 25-14. Nichols avenges a 100-94 setback in overtime back on January 6 with the victory.