DUDLEY, Mass. – Senior Tavon Jones (Linden, N.J.) hit a three pointer with 0.4 left in regulation as the Nichols College men's basketball team edged Wentworth Institute of Technology, 68-67, in Commonwealth Coast Conference action Wednesday night.

Jones' heroics for the Bison (13-3, 7-1 CCC) came right after junior Jack Connell (Walpole, Mass.) scored a second-chance basket to put the Leopards (7-9, 3-5) ahead, 67-65, with two seconds left.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Trailing, 13-9, just over five minutes into the game, Wentworth went on a 14-2 run, taking a 23-15 lead on a pair of sophomore Russel Dolabany (Westwood, Mass.) free throws with 9:38 left. A three-point play from senior Sam Goy (Derry, N.H.) gave the Leopards their largest lead of the half (26-17) with 8:45 left and just over two minutes later, junior Tyler Stewart (East Taunton, Mass.) matched that lead with a layup.
• Using a 9-0 run, the hosts knotted the contest at 28-all on a freshman Jason Ofcarcik (Hampden, Mass.) jumper with 3:38 to play. The game went back and forth with Goy hitting a three with 37 ticks left to give the Black & Gold a 34-32 lead before a senior Mykel Derring (Boston, Mass.) just before the buzzer sounded, tied the game at 34-all at the break.
• After falling behind to start the second half, Wentworth used a 7-2 spurt to take a 41-36 lead after a Connell three pointer. The Bison responded with an 11-3 run using back-to-back three pointers from Jones and senior Nate Duckworth (Normal, Ill.) to take a 50-44 lead with 11:09 left. Connell scored five straight points to pull the Leopards within one and his three pointer after Stewart's layup gave Wentworth a 51-50 lead put the Black & Gold ahead, 54-50.
• Stewart converted a three-point play to extend the lead to 59-54 with 5:46 left, however, Jones made a jumper and junior Domenic Mello (Wareham, Mass.) hit a three to tie the game at 59-all 90 seconds later. Stewart gave Wentworth a 61-59 lead with a layup but a Jones three-point play gave Nichols a 62-61 lead with 3:12 left.
• Two free throws and a layup by Stewart sandwiched around a Derring three tied the game at 65-all with 1:26 left. With a minute left, the Bison missed a three, and, after Stewart grabbed the rebound, Wentworth missed a three at the other end with 23 seconds left. However, the rebound was tipped out of bounds by Nichols, giving Wentworth the ball back. Off the inbounds pass, Connell worked for a shot and hit a pull-up jumper from the right wing. Jones was fed the inbounds pass and dribbled down the court, pulling up for a contested three that went in.
• Stewart led all scorers with 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting and recorded a double-double as he grabbed 10 rebounds. Thirteen of his 21 came in the second half where he wass 5-for-7 from the floor. Goy added 20 points and Connell chipped in with 10.
• Jones led four double-figure scorers for the Bison with 19.

ALL-TIME SERIES:

• Tonight was the 57th all-time meeting between the two teams.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth hosts Endicott on Saturday afternoon.

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