DUDLEY, Mass. (Jan. 16) – Senior guard Chris Paquin (Barre, Mass.) banked in a long three-pointer with 1.2 seconds left in the game to score his 1,000th career point and lead the Nichols College men’s basketball team to a 74-61 victory over visiting New England College in a The Commonwealth Coast Conference game Saturday afternoon.
Paquin needed just nine points to become the 22nd player to join the 1,000th-point club in Nichols College men’s basketball history coming into today’s game. He hit a three-pointer in the opening three minutes of the game and then moved the ball around as a key playmaker for the bulk of the game– registering a game-high four assists – until he hit a pair of free throws six minutes into the second half. He sank the first of two free throws with 40 seconds left in the game and then banked in a three from way beyond the arc to hit the mark.
Sophomore forward Pete Atkins (Gainesville, Fla.) led the Bison on the scoreboard with 17 points and five rebounds, after picking up a pair of fouls in the game’s first four minutes. Senior forward Ryan Wilcox (West Granby, Conn.) sank 14 points to go with five boards to join Atkins in double figures and to cut his margin to 1,000 career points down to 84.
Junior forward Joe Faragher paced the Pilgrims with 18 points, eight rebounds and four steals, while junior forward Shane Hennessey and sophomore guard Eric Lenahan each added 10 points to go with eight and six rebounds respectively.
Nichols jumped out to a 6-0 lead and never trailed in the game. The Pilgrims held the Bison scoreless for an 11-minute span during the first half to chip away at an 18-8 Nichols advantage and tie the game up with 3:17 left in the frame, only to see the Bison end the half on a 9-2 run for a 27-20 lead at the break.
The Bison used Paquin’s pair of made free throws early in the second half to spark a run that put them up by nine by the midway point, but another lengthy dry spell saw the Pilgrims come as close as two when Faragher completed a three-point play at 9:06 to make it 45-43 in favor of the Bison.
Nichols made its final surge with three minutes left, starting with a pair of free throws by Michael Salis (Pelham, N.H.), who finished with nine points, four rebounds and three assists. Atkins posted five points, a pair of rebounds and a key steal during the span, a 12-point run that was only interrupted by a three-pointer by NEC’s Andrew MacDonald.
New England College held the advantage on the glass at 37-34, but Nichols converted its caroms into 20 second-chance points to the Pilgrims’ nine. The Bison parlayed NEC’s 25 turnovers into 26 points, while allowing seven on their own 17 turnovers.
Nichols is back in action on January 20 in an 8 p.m. TCCC game at Salve Regina. New England College hosts Regis the same day for a conference game at 7:30 p.m.
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