DUDLEY, Mass. – Nichols College sophomore DeAnte Bruton scored a game-high 34 points, including his 1,000th career point, to help lead the top-seeded #22 Bison to an 89-75 victory over No. 4-seed Roger Williams University on Thursday night in a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Semifinal matchup in Dudley, Mass.
 
The Bison (24-3) advance to their second-straight CCC Championship and will meet a familiar foe as No. 3-seed Endicott upset No. 2-seed Gordon in the other CCC Semifinal, 86-70, to set up a rematch of last year's CCC Final on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.
 
Bruton scored 25 of his 34 points in the second half to go with 10 rebounds and three steals to lead the Bison. Junior Marcos Echevarria added 18 points, five rebounds, and five assists, while senior Daequon Antoineposted a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds in the win. Sophomore Tyler Dion added nine points, with classmate Jerome Cunningham chipping in six points, seven rebounds, two assists, and three blocks.
 
Roger Williams had four players reach double-figures in scoring as senior Conor O'Brien led the way with 18 points, with seniors Nick Marini and Jaylen Jennings, as well as junior Austin Coene scoring 17 points apiece. Coene added six rebounds and four assists, while Jennings had five rebounds, and Marini chipped in three rebounds and four assists. Sophomore Rich Pugliese scored the other six points of the game for the Hawks.
 
After shooting only 21.1% (4-of-19) from beyond the arc in the first half, the Bison got hot from distance in the second half, connecting on 9-of-14 triples (64.3%) in the period to shoot 39.4% (13-of-33) in the game.  The Bison shot 47.2% (34-of-72) from the field in the game, while hitting 8-of-11 (72.7%) of their free throws.
 
Roger Williams shot 47.5% (28-of-59) from the floor, 33.3% (8-of-24) from beyond the arc, and 78.6% (11-of-14) from the charity stripe in the setback.
 
Nichols held a 38-32 edge in rebounding, while committing only six turnovers to 14 for the visitors.
 
The Bison grabbed an early 10-7 lead following a layup from freshman Matt Morrow, but a 9-2 run by Roger Williams gave the visitors a 16-12 advantage with 14:06 to play in the first half. The two teams eventually traded triples, however, Roger Williams took a 30-20 advantage following a score inside from Jaylen Jennings. Threes from Dion and Echevarria pulled the Bison back to 30-26, and a score inside from Bruton kept it a four-point game at 32-28.
 
Roger Williams scored the next six points to go back up by 10, and Nichols could only cut the deficit to six following another score from Bruton as Roger Williams took a 47-39 lead into the break behind 15 first-half points from Jaylen Jennings.
 
The Hawks took their largest lead of the game on a triple from O'Brien that made it a 52-41 deficit with 18:02 to play in the game. DeAnte Bruton had seen enough, and scored 11-of-14 points during a 14-3 run by the Bison to put Nichols back in front 55-54 with 14:43 to play. Austin Coene ended the run with a layup, and the Hawks took a 59-56 advantage with 12:26 remaining following a three from Marini.
 
The Bison responded with a 7-0 run on a three from Echevarria and back-to-back jumpers from Bruton to jump out in front 63-59. After O'Brien scored to make it a one-possession game, Antoine buried a three, but Marini scored inside to keep it a 66-63 score with 8:36 remaining.
 
With less than eight minutes to play, Morrow missed a layup but Bruton was there to tip home the miss and record his 1,000th career point, which gave the Bison some breathing room at 68-63. Marini answered again with another layup, but the Bison used a 7-0 run capped by a three-point play from Bruton to race out to a 75-65 lead with 5:39 remaining.
 
Roger Williams trimmed the lead to four after a jumper by Marini with 3:59 to play, and Nichols responded again with a triple from Antoine and two-straight layups from Bruton and Echevarria to build the lead back to 82-71.
 
A three from Echevarria with 2:18 remaining sealed the game for the Bison as he put Nichols in front 85-72. Jerome Cunningham would sandwich perfect trips to the free throw line around a three from Pugliese to give the game its final score of 89-75.
 
All-Time Series
Nichols and Roger Williams have met 52 times in program history, and the Bison hold a 31-21 advantage in the matchup. The Bison are currently riding an 11-game winning streak against the Hawks, including three wins this season.