DUDLEY, Mass. – Five different players scored in double figures as the Nichols College men's basketball team improved to 21-3 overall and 15-2 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) with a 93-83 win over Eastern Nazarene College on Tuesday night in Dudley, Mass.
 
Current CCC Player of the Week, junior Marcos Echevarria poured in a game-high 26 points to go with four rebounds and four assists to pace the Bison. Echevarria knocked down 6-of-13 three-pointers on the night and passed Billy Collins '95 for first place in the Nichols record book for all-time three-point field goals made. The junior has knocked down 334 triples in 83 career games, averaging 4.02 three-pointers made per game.
 
Sophomore DeAnte Bruton buried 7-of-10 shots on the way to 19 points, three rebounds, five assists, and four steals. Senior Daequon Antoine added 17 points and four rebounds, while sophomore Tyler Dion knocked down 5-of-7 triples to add 15 points and three rebounds. Freshman Matt Morrow chipped in 10 points, four rebounds, and three assists, with Jerome Cunningham posting a stat line of six points, five rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and a steal.
 
Eastern Nazarene (6-16, 2-15 CCC) was led by 24 points, four rebounds, and four assists from sophomore Noah Cheney. Sophomore Josh Rice added 15 points and three assists, while freshman David Lopez recorded 14 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Sophomore Jacob Waldroop posted eight points, eight rebounds, and six assists, with classmate Brenndan Rogers chipping in 13 points off the bench.
 
It was a back-and-forth opening half as there were nine ties and 16 lead changes in the first 20 minutes of action. Eastern Nazarene took a 22-18 lead on a layup by Lopez with 10:21 to play, and the Bison answered back when a triple from Echevarria put the Bison on top 24-23 nearly two minutes later. Nichols could not build a lead of more than three in the entire period as the Lions continued to answer every basket throughout the stanza.
 
A Cunningham jumper put the Bison ahead 31-28, but back-to-back threes from Lopez and Cheney put the Lions back in front 34-31 with 3:42 remaining. The two teams traded baskets the rest of the way, and a pull-up jumper from Echevarria in the final minute knotted the game at 42-42 headed into the half.
 
Out of the break, the Bison used an 11-2 run including threes from Bruton, Dion, and Echevarria to jump out to a 53-44 lead and force a Lions timeout. The Lions chipped away as another three from Cheney trimmed the lead to 55-51, but a layup from Antoine staked the Bison to a 70-60 advantage with 10:05 to play in the second half.
 
The Lions continued to hang around, using a 7-2 run to get as close as 72-67, and after Bruton eventually gave the Bison a 77-70 lead, Eastern Nazarene scored five-straight points to make it a 77-75 ballgame with 3:07 to play. Nichols answered this time with back-to-back threes from Antoine and Dion to extend the lead back to 83-75 with only 2:04 remaining.
 
Eastern Nazarene was forced to foul to extend the game, and the Bison went 8-for-8 down the stretch to build their largest lead of the game at 91-77 before eventually pulling out the 93-83 victory.
 
Nichols shot an incredible 56.9% (33-of-58) from the field, including 59.3% (16-of-27) in the second half, while connecting on 50% (16-of-32) of its three-pointers and 91.7% (11-of-12) of its free throws in the win. Eastern Nazarene ended the game shooting 47.7% (31-of-65) from the field, 46.9% (15-of-32) from beyond the arc, and 66.7% (6-of-9) from the charity stripe in the setback. The Lions held a 34-27 advantage in rebounds, while committing 12 turnovers to just 10 for the home team.
 
All-Time Series
Nichols and Eastern Nazarene have met 38 times in the series, and the Bison hold a 23-15 advantage in the matchup, including wins in eight of their last nine meetings.