Worcester State 82, Nichols 75
Worcester, MA --- Junior Maurice Horton
(Detroit, MI) tallied a season-best 30 points while pulling down 13
rebounds to lead Worcester State to an 82-75 victory over Nichols
this evening at Lancer Gymnasium.
The win improves the Lancers to 1-3 while the Bison dip to 2-3.
WSC is now 51-30 all-time against Nichols since they started
playing in 1960.
Horton scored 22 of his 30 points and grabbed seven of his 13
boards in the second half alone while he went 12-for-17 from the
charity stripe. Junior Elijah Sims (Worcester, MA)
contributed 12 of his 23 points in the second period with three
steals. Classmate Darren Schmidt (Shelburne Falls,
MA) pulled down eight rebounds while Brandon Fortes (Pawtucket, RI)
notched eight points.
Senior Jeff Lindgren (Sturbridge, MA) paced four
Nichols teammates who scored in double-figures. Lindgren recorded
19 points while classmate John Costello (Tolland,
CT) and sophomore Chris Smith (Moosup, CT) each
corralled eight rebounds. Costello added 12 points while junior
Ryan Wilcox (West Granby, FL) and freshman
Pete Atkins (Gainsville, FL) each chipped in with
15 and 11 points, respectively, off the bench for the Bison.
The Lancers opened the game going 6-for-18 from the field and
0-for-6 from beyond the arc as Nichols built up a 32-15lead with
seven minutes left in the first half. To close out the period,
Worcester State went on a 16-4 run to cut into the lead with the
visitors ahead 39-31 at the break.
To start the second stanza Costello hit back-to-back jumpers to
bring the scoring margin back up to a ten point lead (43-33), but
WSC held the Bison to just two free throws over the next 2 ½
minutes of play. A three pointer by freshman Raheem
Lewis (Whitinsville, MA) put the Lancers within one with
just under 16 minutes left in the game (45-44).
A Lindgren layup to made the score 49-44, but Worcester State
embarked on a 16-4 run to take the lead and go up 60-53 with nine
minutes left to go in the half. The Lancers took the lead and went
up three points as Sims converted two field goals at the 10:18 mark
(56-53).
WSC built the lead as far as 71-62 with four minutes left to play
in the game, but Nichols wouldn’t go away as they clawed
their way back to two on a trey by Wilcox with 76 ticks left on the
clock. After Horton sank two free throws with 51 seconds left,
Atkins hit a jump shot to get within two again, but the Lancers
scored five unanswered points to seal the victory.
The difference in the game was how each team shot the ball in the
two halves. In the opening period Nichols shot 52% from the floor
while Worcester State hit at a 29.7% (11-for-37) clip from the
field. In the second half the Lancers held the visitors to 38%
inside the arc while WSC connected for 47% (18-for-38) of their
attempts.
Both teams were even in rebounding margin (41-41) while the Blue
and Gold shot just 18% (3-for-16) from beyond the three point line.
Worcester State scored 24 second chance points while also taking
advantage of 21 Nichols miscues with 24 points off of
turnovers.
Both teams will play night games on Thursday. WSC will travel to
take on Clark at 7 PM while Nichols entertains NESCAC foe
Connecticut College at 8.