BOSTON, Mass. (1/13/24) – In a high-scoring bout at the Smith Gymnasium, senior guard Tavon Jones put up a career-high 41 points as the Nichols College men's basketball team bounced back to top Suffolk University 102-98 in overtime on Saturday afternoon.

The Bison winning streak is now at six games, with the team improving to 12-3 (6-1 CCC) overall. Suffolk slips to 7-7 (4-4 CCC) with the loss.
Jones' 41-point performance paired nicely with 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season, which also came as his third in a row to lead the evening for the Bison. There was also a historical piece connected to Jones' 41 points as he became just the sixth player in program history to score that many, as well as the first since Billy Collins on February 20^th, 1994.

Dominic Mello and Mykel Derring each contributed 23 and 20 points respectively, while Jason Ofcarcik put up 12 in the effort. The Bison, as a team, finished the game shooting 38-of-75 (50.7%) from the floor, including 11-of-30 (36.7%) success from behind the arc.

In the first half, Suffolk pulled ahead to a nine-point, 24-15 lead as the Bison tried to get a rhythm going offensively. Nichols then converted on a brief 5-0 run thanks to baskets from Derring and Mello but struggled to get defensive stops at the opposite end of the court. With 6:05 left, a 7-2 run helped the Bison pull back from a 38-28 deficit to make it a five-point game. which was then shortly followed by a Mello three-pointer to put things at 42-38 Rams. Both teams closed out the half trading buckets, with Suffolk extending their lead back out to seven points at 52-45.

The back-and-forth play continued into the second half, but saw Nichols slowly come from behind to steal the lead away from the Rams.The score officially flipped on a Jones three-pointer with 7:32 left in the half, which was then followed by an Ofcarcik dunk on the next possession. Both squads continued to battle the remainder of the half with neither team grabbing more than a three-point lead. Nichols led 91-89 with 00:50 remaining on a layup from Ofcarcik, before a pair of made free throws by the Rams forced overtime to decide the winner.

In the extra frame, with both knotted-up at 91-all, the Bison went to work early on building a lead with consecutive threes by Mello and Jones, which spurred a 10-2 run for a 101-93 advantage with 00:20 left to play. Despite the Rams securing five more points, one final free throw by Mello was all it took to send the Bison home happy with the 102-98 victory.

The Bison return home after their lengthy three-game road trip and will host Wentworth Institute of Technology for the Mental Health Awareness Game at the Nichols Athletic Center, with tipoff slated for 7:30 PM.