DUDLEY, Mass. – Suffolk men's basketball could not hold onto its first half upper hand as Nichols outscored the Rams, 47-28 over the second to hand the Rams an 83-70 CCC setback Saturday afternoon at the Nichols Athletic Center.
THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 70 | Nichols 83
RECORDS: Suffolk (12-10, 7-7 CCC) | Nichols (20-3, 13-1 CCC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk gained a four-point, 13-9 edger early as all five starters contributed to the Rams scoring in a game that changed the lead on every possession.
The blue-and-gold remained in front and lengthened the lead to 31-16 at the 5:24 mark behind a 14-2 stretch. That run featured triples by Devin Dzikas, Cole LeVangie and two from Nick Verdile.
Nichols knocked down the deficit to four, 40-35, before Keenan Robertson turned a trip to the free throw line into two points to send Suffolk into the locker room up 43-34.
Out of the intermission, the Bison battled back and leveled the playing field at 52 just under seven minutes into the second half. The lead flipped back-and-forth before landing in Nichols favor on a Deshaun Nettles layup.
A sluggish Suffolk offense allowed the host to build a 61-54 advantage that blossomed into a 74-60 game with 3:28 remaining in regulation.
That deficit proved too large for the Rams to make up and Nichols went on to lock up the conference victory, 83-70.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- LeVangie notched 16 points on a 6-for-11 showing from the floor and a 4-for-8 effort from 3-point land. He added three rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal.
- Verdile registered 13 points, three boards and four handouts.
- Danny Yardemian and Robertson each poured in 12 points. Yardemian shot 5-for-11 on the day and added five boards, three assists and three steals. Robertson, meanwhile, chipped in five rebounds and five dimes.
- Nichols outrebounded Suffolk, 36-33.
- The score tied three times and the lead changed eight.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk closes out its regular-season road slate at University of New England Wednesday, Feb. 14 at 7:30 p.m.