Recap
Junior Jerome Cunningham filled the stat sheet with 10 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks as No. 16 Nichols College bested Tufts University 87-81 in non-conference men's basketball action Wednesday night in Medford, Mass.
 
Sophomore Matt Morrow added 21 points and eight boards in just 25 minutes of action (10-of-19 FG) while senior Marcos Echevarria dropped in a game-high 22 points to go with six boards and six assists. The Bison won the game at the free throw line as they connected on 21 of their 25 attempts (84 percent).
 
Luke Rogers recorded a double-double for the Jumbos (5-7), notching 16 points and 13 rebounds to go with four blocks and a pair of steals. Justin Kouyoumdjian went for 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting while Brennan Morris had 14 points and six rebounds.
 
The Bison held a one-point halftime lead (35-34) behind 12 points each from Morrow and Echevarria. NC led by as many as 12 in the opening stanza following a layup by Morrow with 6:45 on the clock.
 
In the second half, the Bison found themselves behind by five points with eight minutes to go in regulation (66-62) before senior Bryce Boggs sank a pair of free throws, then stole the ball at the other end of the floor and made a layup to cut the deficit to one. Echevarria followed with a three-point play to put the Bison ahead for good at 68-66 with 5:38 to go.
 
Three things you need to know...

-Tonight's meeting marked the first-ever varsity meeting between Nichols College and Tufts University. The Bison played the Tufts freshman squad on December 17, 1952 and came away with an 82-53 win.

-The Bison converted 14 Jumbos turnovers into 22 points and won despite shooting a season-low 40 percent from the field (29-of-73).

-Nichols made its final 10 free throws over the final 3:29 of the second half.
 
Quote
"It was not our best performance by any stretch, but we did enough to win. Bryce Boggs gave us a spark off the bench at both ends of the floor. We grabbed some key offensive rebounds in the second half and made our free throws." –Nichols head coach Scott Faucher
 
Next game
Saturday, January 5 vs Gordon, 3:00 p.m.