Box Score

DUDLEY, Mass. – Sophomore Jalen Hurst (Hartford, Conn.) scored a career-high 18 points to lift the Nichols College men's basketball team to a 96-93 win over MCLA in non-conference action Tuesday night at the Nichols Athletic Center.

Senior captain Ryan Sheehan (North Attleboro, Mass.) scored 20 of his team-high 24 points in the second half as the Bison (3-2) overcame a 14-point first-half deficit and defeated the Trailblazers (2-3) for the second-straight year. Senior Sam Horning (Falmouth, Maine) chipped in with 17 points of the bench while junior Marlon Bennett (Stratford, Conn.) netted 15 and junior Matt Langadas (Sebago, Maine) went for 11.

Junior Ruben Delrosario (Springfield, Mass.) poured in a game-high 32 points for the visitors as he went 10-of-14 from the field (71.4 pct.) and 10-of-12 from the charity stripe (83.3 pct.). He also registered six assists, four steals and three rebounds in 38 minutes of action. Sophomore Paul Maurice (Boston, Mass.) tallied 19 points and three steals while senior Ramon Viches (Boston, Mass.) recorded 12 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks.

The Trailblazers built an 11-point lead (20-9) led than six minutes into the contest behind seven points from Delrosario and six from senior John Jones (Worcester, Mass.) A three from Maurice six minutes later pushed the lead to 14 at 40-26.

Hurst responded with seven points over the final minutes of the half, and a three-pointer from sophomore Christian Horton (Rutland, Mass.) gave the home team its first lead of the night at 43-42 with 3:39 left in the first half. Layups from Bennett and junior Joe Gallant (Salem, N.H.) gave Nichols a five-point lead heading to the locker room (47-42). MCLA shot 51 percent during the first half of play and scored 28 of its points in the paint. The Bison, meanwhile, received 19 points from their bench – led by 12 from Bennett and nine from Hurst.

The second half featured seven ties and, on seven different occasions, the Bison fell behind. Maurice gave the Trailblazers their largest lead of the second half at 76-71 with a layup with 9:33 remaining, but a layup by Horning four minutes later tied the game for the final time at 82. A triple from Sheehan gave the Bison an 85-82 lead that the Bison saw trimmed to one on three occasions.

Hurst gave Nichols a three-point cushion when he sank two free throws with 30 seconds on the clock. Three more free throws down the stretch pushed the lead to five with 13 seconds remaining, and following a layup by Delrosario with 13 seconds left that made it a three-point game again, Horning sank two free throws to seal the win.

"We weren't ready to play and came out like we were ready to go home for break," said Bison second-year head coach Jeff Lindgren. "MCLA came in here and shot the lights out. They were ready to go as soon as they got off the bus. It took some bench guys to get us going. I don't think we played well, but we played well enough to win, and that's all that matters."

The Trailblazers outrebounded Nichols 36-33 but committed 22 turnovers which were turned into 28 points by Nichols. Each team finished the game over 50 percent from the field as MCLA made 34 of its 62 field goals (55 pct.) and Nichols rattled in 33 of its 64 (52 pct.).

Sheehan made 10-of-12 from the line while Hurst – who was 3-of-5 from long range – made five of his six FT attempts.

The Bison return to action on Sunday, Dec. 1 with a 1 p.m. contest at Husson. The Trailblazers host Williams Sunday at 6 p.m.