Recap
Junior DeAnte Bruton dropped in a game-high 22 points in Nichols College's 107-80 win over the University of New England Saturday afternoon in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) men's basketball action at the Nichols Athletic Center.
Sophomore Matt Morrow filled the stat sheet with 12 points, 16 rebounds and a pair of assists for the Bison (14-2, 6-1 CCC), who shot 51 percent from the field and picked up assists on 28 of their 41 field goals. Senior and two-time CCC Player of the Year Marcos Echevarria scored 21 points and handed out five dimes while freshman Jaekwon Spencer came off the bench and collected 13 points, eight boards, five assists, two steals, and two blocks.
Senior Daren Hoges, Jr. paced the Nor'easters (5-11, 3-4 CCC) with 13 points while sophomore Alex Kravchuk scored nine points and picked up three steals. UNE shot 39 percent on the afternoon and made 10 of its 41 three-point attempts (24 percent).
The two schools traded blows for the first 10 minutes of the contest as the Bison held a slim 27-25 edge. NC closed the first half on a 28-12 run to open up a 55-37 halftime lead behind nine points from Spencer, seven from Echevarria, and six from junior Kash Jackson. A triple from Echevarria 7:31 into the second half pushed the lead to 30 points (76-46), and a dunk from senior Ariff McLaren late in the half extended it to a game-high 35 points (100-65).
Three things you need to know...
-Today's contest marked the 28th all-time meeting between Nichols College and UNE. The Bison have won seven of the last eight meetings and lead the series, 23-5.
-With five steals this afternoon, Echevarria moved past former teammates Irving Eggleston (2012-16) and Gustave Koumare (2012-16) and into first-place on the program's all-time steals list with 197. Both Koumare and Eggleston graduated tied for the lead with 193.
-Nichols dominated the paint, outrebounding the Nor'easters 54-41 behind Morrow's 16 boards and eight from both Spencer and junior Jerome Cunningham.
Quote
"I was pleased with our overall defensive effort tonight. We held an explosive offensive team to 80 points. We were unselfish offensively and worked together to find great shots." –Nichols head coach Scott Faucher
Next game
Wednesday, January 16 @ Roger Williams, 7:30 p.m.