BOSTON, Mass. – Senior guard Bryan Riley (West Boylston, Mass.) drained a three pointer with 5.1 seconds, capping off a career-high 25-point night as the Nichols College men's basketball team rallied from as much as 19 points down in the first half to edge Wentworth, 68-67, in a The Commonwealth Coast Conference contest played at Tansey Gymnasium.
The host Leopards jumped out to an early 12-4 lead , with six of those points coming from senior forward Matt Abbott (Falmouth, Mass.). Wentworth would then use a 15-2 run to extend a12-8 lead to a 27-10 lead with 10:04 left in the half, thanks in part to three three-pointers from freshman guard Corey Therriault (Auburn, Maine), and would lead take a 32-13 lead on a pair of junior forward Sam Herrick (Duxbury, Mass.) free throws. Shooting 61.5 percent from the floor and holding the Bison to 27.6 percent, the Leopards took a 45-31 lead at the half.
After sophomore guard Adam Dombrowski (Dunstable, Mass.) hit a basket to open the second half, Nichols went on a 12-0 run with six points coming from freshman forward Kyle Mascilak (Sparta, N.J.) and four from Riley, to cut the lead to 47-43. Wentworth would go up by seven on a Herrick basket with 10:35 left before a three pointer from senior guard Chris Paquin (Barre, Mass.) and a layup from classmate Justin Kuntz (Wallingford, Conn.) cut the lead to 52-50 with 8:00 left.
Senior guard Jack Barrett (Reading, Mass.) hit three of four free throws to extend the lead to five, a lead the Leopards would take two more times, including West hitting two free throws with 2:01 left to make it a 66-61 game.
Riley brought the Bison within three with a basket with 1:43 left, and, after a missed three-point attempt, sophomore guard Michael Salis (Nashua, N.H.) hit a layup to cut the lead to 66-65 with 1:22 left. Nichols had the ball after a missed Wentworth basket with 45 seconds left, but turned it over 14 seconds later. Riley fouled sophomore guard Brendan Monteiro (Brockton, Mass.), who the back end of a two-shot foul to make it 67-65 in favor of the hosts with 25 seconds left before Riley's trifecta from the top of the key provided the heroics. Wentworth had one last attempt, but a game-winning shot would fall short.
Riley went 10-for-18 on the night and his lone three-point attempt cam on the game winner. Mascilak added 11 points and six rebounds. Wentworth was led by West and Therriault, who each had 14 points. West also had seven rebounds while Therriault had five assists and three steals.
The win, Nichols' second in its last three games, improves its record to 11-10 overall and 4-6 in TCCC play. The Bison host Eastern Nazarene on Saturday. Wentworth sees its five-game win streak come to an end, falling to 11-10 (7-3). The Leopards host Curry on Saturday.
