Box Score
WENHAM, Mass.—The Fighting Scots fell victim to excellent shooting from the outside by rival Nichols on Saturday afternoon, as the Bison swept the season series with a 75-64 at the Bennett Center. Gordon had no answer for Nichols' barrage of shots from the outsides and the Bison made free throws when they needed to keep the game out of reach.
The first five minutes of Saturday's contest had the makings of an exciting conference shootout. Both squads came out of the gates red-hot from the floor, but Nichols timely shooting continued well into the first half. The game was tied at 10 points aside after the opening five minutes when the Bison began to pull away.
Triples by Gustave Koumarem (Harlem, N.Y.) and Marlon Bennett (Stratford, Conn.) gave Nichols its largest lead of the early going at 18-11 with 12:28 on the clock. Bennett hit another off-balance three from the deep corner to make it a 21-13 game only 30 seconds later. The junior shooting guard began the game five-for-five from the floor, four of which were behind the arch.
The Scots tried to chip away at the Bison's lead little by little, but every time down the floor, Nichols seemed to hit a deep shot. The Bison vaulted their lead to as much as 15 points in the first half, but a pair of Jason Dempsey (Wallingford, Conn.) jumpers cut the deficit to 40-29 at halftime.
A 15-minute break did little to deter Nichols from attempting the deep ball. Jalen Hurst (Hartford, Conn.) and Christian Horton (Rutland, Mass.) got into the action to build the Bison's advantage up to 16 points early in the second half. No matter what the Scots tried, they could not cut the lead to any less than nine points in the second half.
Triples and free throws ended up as the deciding factors in the game. Despite missing their final six attempts, Nichols went 12-for-24 from behind the arch, while the Scots made only four of their 21 shots from deep. The Bison also made their first nine free throws, before finishing 11-of-16, while the Scots struggled mightily from the line. They finished a notch above 50-percent, going 14-of-26 at the stripe.
Hurst led all scorers with 15 points, including four made threes. Bennett (14 points) and Koumare (10 points) had standout games off of the bench. The Scots played the conference's leading scorer Ryan Sheehan well, but he managed to finish with 11 points on the evening.
Alex Carnes (Phoenix, Ariz.) led the Scots in points and rebounds with 14 and 11 respectively. He also chipped in four assists off the bench. Hans Miersma (Whitinsville, Mass.) was bracketed all game, but managed 11 points and eight boards, with another three blocks. Dempsey did not score in the second half, but had a fantastic game with 10 points and nine rebounds. Senior point guard Park Thomas (Scottsdale, Ariz.) had 11 points and dished out seven assists.
Things don't get any easier for the Scots, as they travel across town to face Endicott on Wednesday night. Gordon will look to end their two-game skid, while Endicott hopes to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Scots.
