DUDLEY, Mass. – The top-seeded No. 22 Nichols College men's basketball team cruised to a 100-68 victory over No. 8-seed Western New England College on Tuesday night in a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Quarterfinal matchup in Dudley, Mass.
 
The Bison improve to 23-3 overall and advance to take on No. 4-seed Roger Williams University on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. in the Athletic Center. The Hawks (18-8) fought off a pesky University of New England team to advance to the Semifinals.
 
Western New England wraps up its season at 11-15 overall.
 
Five players reached double-figures for the Bison, led by a game-high 21 points, six assists, and two steals from CCC Player of the Year Marcos Echevarria. Senior Daequon Antoine added 17 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore DeAnte Bruton netted 15 points, five rebounds, seven assists, and two steals of his own. Sophomore Jerome Cunningham had an all-around game with nine points, nine rebounds, and six rebounds, with classmate Tyler Dion registering seven points, four rebounds, and four assists.
 
The freshmen duo of Matt Morrow and Nate Tenaglia were the difference off the bench for the Bison as Morrow recorded a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Tenaglia added 13 points, three rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
 
Western New England freshman EJ Day led the Golden Bears with 15 points, while classmate Alex Sikorski chipped in 12 points, four rebounds, and three steals off the bench. CCC Rookie of the Year Zach Tavitian was the final player in double-figures for the Golden Bears with 10 points and six rebounds.
 
A three-pointer from Echevarria gave the Bison a 21-15 lead with 10:04 remaining in the first half before the Golden Bears answered with a 9-2 run to take a 24-23 advantage with 7:59 to play. The Bison responded with a 17-0 run over the next five minutes of game action to pull ahead 40-24 with less than three minutes remaining in the period.
 
Western New England answered with a run of its own, scoring 10-straight points to make it a 40-34 game, but the Bison ended the half with back-to-back three-point plays from Echevarria to take a 46-34 lead into the break.
 
Out of the half, a 12-point lead quickly turned into a 56-34 advantage as the Bison opened the half on a 10-0 run capped by a layup from Antoine. A layup inside from Tavitian would get the Golden Bears as close as 60-41, but the Bison used another big run, this time a 15-3 stretch, to race out to a 75-44 advantage with 11:28 to play.
 
Western New England would only get as close as 27 the rest of the way, as the Bison lead grew to as many as 38 in the second half, helping the Bison walk away with the 100-68 victory.
 
Nichols shot 51.3% (39-of-76) from the field, 38.7% (12-of-31) from beyond the arc, and 66.7% (10-of-15) from the free throw line in the win. Western New England ended the game shooting 35.3% (24-of-68) from the floor, while connecting on 33.3% (9-of-27) of its three-pointers, and 68.8% (11-of-16) of its free throws. Nichols held a 54-33 advantage in rebounds, and committed only 11 turnovers to 13 for the visitors.
 
All-Time Series
The Bison and Golden Bears have met 40 times since the series began in 1954, and Nichols leads the all-time series 26-14.