GORHAM, Maine (12/29/23) – In their final matchup of 2023, the Nichols College men's basketball team utilized a strong second half to erase a second half deficit against the University of Southern Maine, claiming the win over the Huskies by a close 76-74 final at the Costello Sports Complex.

Nichols halts a two-game skid and moves to 7-3 (1-1 CCC) on the season, while Southern Maine drops to 5-6 (1-2 LEC).  

It was a solid afternoon for senior Mykel Derring, who dropped a personal season-best 27 points on 8-of-19 (42.1%) shooting, including 16 second half points to lead the way for the Bison. Junior Dominic Mello added 17 points, while freshman Jason Ofcarcik contributed his own season-best 14 points. Senior Tavon Jones worked the board for Nichols with nine total rebounds, all of which were defensive, and rounded out the double-figure scorers with 12 points in the effort. As a team, Nichols shot 28-of-56 (50%) from the field, scoring 24 points off turnovers.

Southern Maine opened the action with a 9-2 lead though the first four minutes played and remained up on the Bison at the midway point of the half by a 15-8 score. On the next two drives, Nichols collected six points off consecutive three pointers by Dominic Mello and Mykel Derring, pulling to within one of the Huskies at 15-14. However, the Huskies denied the Bison any lead in the first half as they pulled back ahead by a 24-14 margin on a 9-0 run, which later grew to 16 points on an 11-0 run with under five minutes to play. Nichols trailed Southern Maine 38-24 at the break, setting the table for a dramatic second half.

Despite some close competition through the first five minutes of the second half, the Bison came out of nowhere with a 12-4 run to pull within six points of the Huskies, with all of the points being shared between Tavon Jones and Jason Ofcarcik. Down the stretch, Southern Maine struggled to further their lead back to a comfortable position as the Bison matched them on the other end of the court. With 1:24 remaining, a three-pointer by Mykel Derring gave Nichols its first lead of the game since the opening basket, which shortly thereafter resulted in a 71-all deadlock between the two teams. One final jumper by Jones gave the Bison a two-point edge with 00:46 left, while trips to the charity stripe completing the task for Nichols at the final buzzer by the 76-74 final.

Up next, Nichols returns to conference play and looks to open the new year on a high note against Roger Williams University on Tuesday, January 2^nd with tipoff scheduled for 7:30 PM at the Campus Rec Center Gymnasium.