DUDLEY, Mass. (2/10/24) – Senior guard Tavon Jones racked up a game-high 29 points to hit the 1,000-point mark in his career on Saturday afternoon as the Nichols College men's basketball team topped Suffolk University, 83-70 in conference play at the Nichols Athletic Center.

Jones became the 30^th player in program history to join the men's basketball 1,000-Point Club. Nichols improves to 20-3 (13-1 CCC) with their 14^th straight victory, while Suffolk falls to 12-10 (7-7 CCC) with the loss.  

Along with scoring the team-lead in points, Jones added seven boards and five steals to his output for the afternoon. Junior guard Dominic Mello registered 19 points on 6-of-12 (50.0%) shooting, along with four rebounds and four assists. Freshman Jason Ofcarcik scored put up 13 points, along with a game-high eight rebounds, while senior Nate Duckworth scored 12 points. The Bison held the edge in rebounds, 36-33, and outshot the Rams 53.3 percent (32-of-60) to 40.3 percent (25-of-62).

Both teams traded the game's first 18 points through the first five minutes of play, locking horns at a 9-9 with 15:06 to play in the half. From there, Suffolk used a 9-2 run to gain a 17-11 advantage over the Bison, a lead they would not forfeit the rest of the half. Despite the Bison outshooting the Rams from the field, Suffolk saw the bulk of the opportunities, scoring seven total baskets from behind the arc. Through 20 minutes of play, the Rams led the Bison 42-36.

The Rams continued to apply pressure early in the second half, stretching their lead to as many as nine points, 52-43 with 15:25 left. However, the Bison fired back with three consecutive three-pointers, two of which came from Mello, to tie the game at 52-52 before an Ofcarcik layup at 12:47 put them back in the lead, 54-52. Each of those baskets played an integral part in what would be an 18-2 scoring run for the Bison, resulting in a seven-point lead for the hosts with 11 minutes to go. Later down the stretch, Nichols officially put the game out of reach on a 14-3 run which was capped off by a Jones triple, which brought him to his 1,000-point milestone. The Bison went on to win the game, 83-70.

The Bison have one final road matchup on the docket this Wednesday, February 14^th at Gordon College (5-18, 2-12 CCC). The game will start at 7:30 PM at the Bennett Center.