DUDLEY, Mass. (2/22/24) – The top-seeded Nichols College men's basketball team's postseason journey ended abruptly on Thursday evening with an 86-80 loss to fifth-seeded Roger Williams University in the semifinal round of the Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament at the Nichols Athletic Center.

With the loss, the Bison exit the conference tournament with a 22-4 (15-1 CCC) record. The Hawks improve to 13-14 (8-8 CCC) and advance to the CCC Championship game this Saturday, where they will host sixth-seeded Suffolk University.

Senior guard Tavon Jones led all players with 31 points and 10 rebounds, which was good for his seventh double-double of the season. Mykel Derring added 22 points and eight boards for the Bison, while Nate Duckworth had 11 points. In total, the Bison shot 46.9 percent (30-of-64) from the field, and 39.1 percent (9-of-23) from three-range.

The game was a battle right from the get-go in front of a jam-packed Nichols Athletic Center. The Bison started things out with a 4-0 lead over the Hawks following introductory baskets by Derring and Jones, but Roger Williams answered back by scoring six straight on consecutive threes to take the lead, 6-4. Through the midway point of the half, the teams continued to trade baskets up to a 20-19 score in favor of the Hawks, just before the Bison pulled away on a 9-0 run thanks to three consecutive triples by Derring, moving the hosts into the lead, 28-20. However, Roger Williams ended the half with their own 9-2 run, boosting them to a 43-39 advantage at halftime.

It was just a two-point game, 49-47 by the 16:27 mark of the second half, until a Duckworth triple at 15:53 nudged the Bison back into the lead, 50-49, forcing a Roger Williams timeout. The two teams then alternated points over the next three possessions, before the Hawks built their largest lead of the evening with the help of a 14-6 run, bringing the score to 69-61 at the midway point. From there, the Bison again retaliated with seven consecutive points, capped off by a Jones triple, to pull back to within three points of the Hawks. Despite Nichols jumping into the lead one final time at the 3:00 mark, the Hawks went on to score six of the final eight points from the charity stripe to seal the outcome.

This season's 16-straight wins for the Bison marked the third-longest streak in program history.