DUDLEY, Mass. (Feb. 20) – Seniors Bryan Riley (West Boylston, Mass.) and Ryan Wilcox (West Granby, Conn.) combined for 46 points to lead the Nichols College men’s basketball team to an 84-60 senior day victory over the University of New England in a The Commonwealth Coast Conference game. Nichols improves to 14-10 overall and 7-6 in league action, while the Nor’Easters dip to 11-13 overall and 7-6 in conference games. The fifth seed in the TCCC Tournament, Nichols will travel to fourth-seeded Colby-Sawyer Tuesday evening for the quarterfinals.
Wilcox poured in a game-high 24 points on 10-for-12 shooting and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds. Riley scored 22 points, hitting nine of 15 baskets, and dished out a game-high seven assists. Nichols’ third senior, Chris Paquin (Barre, Mass.) joined in on the double-digit scoring, chipping in with 13 points including three of four three-pointers to go with eight rebounds, three steals and three assists.
For the Nor’Easters, Anthony Johnson led the team with 15 points, while Marcus Winn added 12. Kadare Brown picked up six of UNE’s 15 steals.
The game started close with a Winn three-pointer giving the visitors a five-point advantage at 13-8 but the 13:51 mark. The Nor’Easters held onto the margin until one of Paquin’s defensive boards set up Riley for a fast break layup – one of 16 fast break points for the Bison on the night – to give Nichols its first lead of the game just past the midpoint, 20-19. The Bison gathered momentum and extended their lead to as many as 11 before free throws from Sam Simpson (Stratton, Maine) and Travis Guerrette brought the Nor’Easters back within nine at the break, 42-33.
It was all Nichols in the second half, as the Bison held the visitors to 23.7% from the floor while firing at a 64% clip. Wilcox’s rebounds helped the Bison to 11 second-chance points in the half. Nichols built a 17-point lead by the 11:30 mark, but a three by Johnson followed by a Winn layup brought the Nor’Easters back within 12 with 9:36 to play. Nichols responded with a pair of free throws from Michael Salis (Pelham, N.H.) and then went on a 10-3 run to spread its lead to 21.
Down the stretch, the Bison hit four more from down low and three consecutive free throws to keep the game out of reach.
Nichols shot 63.5% from the floor and outrebounded its visitors by a 45-25 margin, and dominated the inside game, scoring 48 points in the paint to the Nor’Easters’ 24.
Both teams await the TCCC Tournament pairings announcement as only the top three seeds have been determined. The quarterfinal round will be played on Tuesday, February 23rd at the highest four seeds.
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