Nichols 84, Worcester State 59
Dudley, MA --- Led by a quartet of players scoring in double
figures, the Nichols College men’s basketball team defeated
Worcester State, 84-59, in the Bison’s home opener Thursday
evening.
The Bison avenge an 11-point season-opening loss to the Lancers at
the Worcester County Classic and improve to 2-1 overall while
Worcester State dips to 1-2 on the young season.
Senior forward Ryan Wilcox (West Granby, CT) led Nichols with 17
points and a pair of blocks, while senior guard Chris Paquin
(Barre, MA) added 16 points. Senior guard Bryan Riley (West
Boylston, MA) added 13 points and a game-high seven assists and
four steals, and first year forward Kyle Mascilak (Sparta, NJ)
chipped in with 12 points off the bench for a hot-shooting Bison
squad that finished the night firing 45.8% from the floor.
Senior forward Maurice Horton (Detroit, MI)
finished with his second double-double of the year, leading all
scorers with 18 points to go with 10 rebounds. First year guard
Tim Henault (Lunenberg, MA) added 11 points, while
sophomore forward Jamaal Atkins (Webster, MA)
pulled down 10 boards.
Worcester State built an early lead, posting a nine-point advantage
six minutes in, but that was as wide a margin as the Lancers could
muster despite shooting 40% from three-point range in the opening
half. Wilcox completed a three-point play to tie the game at 15-15
midway through the half before Worcester State built a five point
lead thanks to a pair of three-pointers from Henault with 9:20 left
in the frame.
Paquin gave Nichols the lead for good with a layup with just over
four minutes remaining in the opening stanza and then sank a pair
of treys amid a 10-2 run to close the half with Nichols leading,
41-32.
Mascilak scored 10 of his 12 in the second half, including a free
throw that gave the Bison their biggest lead of the night –
77-47 -- with 5:29 remaining. An 8-2 Lancers’ run laced with
three points each from Joe LaRoche (Braintree, MA)
and Pat Hamilton (Templeton, MA) cut the
Bison’s lead to 24, but a pair of free throws and a jumper
from Nick Brown (North Reading, MA) once again expanded
Nichols’ lead to keep the game out of reach.
The Bison held Worcester State to 27.7% shooting on the night and
received a strong showing from the bench, which produced 32 points.
Pete Atkins (Gainesville, FL) posted a team-high seven rebound
performance off the bench for Nichols, which held a commanding
presence down low, putting up 40 points in the paint to the
Lancers’ 14, and corralling 16 second-chance points to
Worcester State’s 13.
Nichols is back in action on Tuesday, November 24, in a 5 PM home
game against Fisher College. Worcester State looks to rebound from
its second-straight 20+ point loss in a 7 PM home game against
Clark on December 3.
Release Courtesy of Nichols College Sports Information