Men's Basketball Falls in Season Opener, 86-70, at Nichols

DUDLEY, Mass. – On Opening Night, the Nichols College men's basketball team opened its 2023-24 season in style with an 86-70 victory over Emmanuel College Wednesday night at the Nichols Athletic Center.

The Bison kick off the new campaign with a 1-0 record following the win, while the Saints start out at 0-1 with the loss.

Leading the way for the Bison was senior guard Tavon Jones with a career-best 28 points and 16 rebounds, marking his 10^th career double-double with Nichols. Additionally, in his debut with the Bison, fellow senior Mykel Derring recorded 19 points and added a pair of steals in the winning effort. As a team, the Bison secured 11 total points off the bench, and shot 34-of-70 (48.6%)  from the field while going 10-of-33 (30.3%) from beyond the arc.

Saints senior Donte Pope (Middletown, Conn.) finished with a team-high 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting. Sophomore Zaire Baines (Queens, N.Y.) added 15 points, five assists, and five rebounds, playing a team-high 37 minutes. Senior Ryan Grijalva (Stratham, N.H.) added 14 points, six rebounds, and four steals in the loss.

On their third possession of the first half, junior guard Dominic Mello opened the scoring for Nichols with a three-pointer from the left corner off a quick pass from graduate Ty Rucker. Emmanuel wasted little time in formulating a response, which resulted in nearly eight minutes of close action between the two teams.

Nearing the midway point, Nichols distanced themselves slightly on the scoreboard with a 10-2 run, highlighted by six total fastbreak points between Jones and Rucker. For the final 10 minutes, Emmanuel would continue to remain close on the scoreboard but eventually slip away at the tail end with Derring collecting the final four points. At the half, Nichols led Emmanuel by 10 points at 44-34.

The Bison stormed out of the gate in the second half with strikes on their first four possessions, outscoring the Saints 8-0 to extend their lead to 52-34. The sizable lead would pay dividends for the Bison down the stretch, as Emmanuel would only come to within 12 points of the Bison as their next closest difference.

Following a period of quiet play, the crowd was re-ignited for Nichols at the 4:46 mark after junior forward Deshaun Nettles slammed home a dunk off a behind-the-back feed from Jones, making it an 80-64 game. Little more was needed for the Bison, who emerged triumphant by an 86-70 score at the final buzzer.

The Bison will remain on their home court for their next matchup against non-conference opponent Bridgewater State University on Saturday, November 11^th, with tip-off scheduled for 3:00 PM. The Saints return to play on Sunday, Nov. 12, hosting Bowdoin College at the Jean Yawkey Center at 2:00 p.m.