Dinneen leads all scorers; Bison prevail, 82-72

DUDLEY, Mass. – Junior Matt Langadas (Sebago, Maine) led five Nichols College student-athletes in double-figures with 18 points as the men's basketball team knocked off Salve Regina University 82-72 Saturday afternoon in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at the Nichols Athletic Center.

Senior Ryan Sheehan (North Attleboro, Mass.) poured in 14 second-half points, sophomore Gustave Koumare (Harlem, N.Y.) filled the stat sheet with 13 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals, and both senior Sam Horning (Falmouth, Mass.) and sophomore Jalen Hurst (Hartford, Conn.) added 10 points for the Bison (14-4, 10-1 CCC), who rattled home 10 three-pointers en route to their program-record ninth-consecutive win.

Senior Patrick Dinneen (Medfield, Mass.) led the Seahawks with 20 points – nine of which came from the charity stripe – while classmate Jeff Bielefeld (Littleton, Mass.) recorded 16 points and seven rebounds. Salve Regina (12-7, 7-5 CCC) outrebounded the Bison 41-32 but connected on just four of its 22 attempts from behind the arc.

Salve Regina built an early six-point lead behind six points from Bielefeld. Nichols rallied back to take a seven-point lead at 23-16 following a pair of free throws from Koumare at 7:21, and a layup by sophomore Irving Eggleston (East Lyme, Conn.) at the buzzer sent Nichols to the locker room with a 33-30 advantage.

Koumare and Bielefeld each scored 10 points to lead their respective schools through the opening 20 minutes. Hurst and Horning canned back-to-back treys in the opening two minutes of the second half to put Nichols up nine at 41-32.

After the Seahawks clawed to within two following a layup by Dineen with 12:46 left in the half, the Bison reeled off a 14-2 run to take their largest lead of the afternoon at 60-46, led by Langadas with seven points.

The Seahawks cut their deficit to eight following a Dineen bucket with 2:02 on the clock before a three by junior Eric MacKinnon (South Easton, Mass.) made it 73-68 with 57 seconds remaining. Hurst went 4-for-4 from the line down the stretch to seal the win. Nichols – whose bench outscored the Seahawks reserves 43-14 – won eight-consecutive games during the 1953-54 campaign and again in 1965-66.

Langadas, Sheehan, Koumare, and Hurst all hit a pair of three-pointers in the win while Horning tallied three steals. Dineen added eight boards, five assists and four steals for the Seahawks, who also received eight points and eight boards from freshman Nicholas Bates (Danvers, Mass.).

The Bison host Curry Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. while the Seahawks entertain Endicott at 7:30 p.m.