Nichols Halts Men's Basketball's Win Streak

DUDLEY, Mass. – Senior Jakeigh Dottin (Cambridge, Mass.) scored a game-high 26 points to lead four student-athletes in double figures as the Nichols College men's basketball team defeated Wentworth Institute of Technology, 82-70, in Commonwealth Coast Conference play Tuesday night.

RECORDS:
Wentworth (13-9, 8-7 CCC)
Nichols (17-5, 13-2 CCC)

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

WENTWORTH LEADING SCORERS:  Jack Schaake, 18; Jack Connell, 11; Sam Goy, 10
WENTWORTH LEADING REBOUNDERS:  Schaake, 8; Tyler Stewart, 7; Goy, 5
WENTWORTH ASSIST LEADERS:  Schaake, 3; Connell, 2; Conor Rubenskas, 2

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Wentworth jumped out to a 5-0 lead over the first 1:48 of the contest, thanks to a three pointer from senior Sam Swift (Arlington, Mass.) and a putback by sophomore Tyler Stewart (East Taunton, Mass.) Nichols took its first lead of the night (12-11) on a Dottin layup with 13:20 left. That basket began a stretch of a pair of ties and a pair of lead changes before the Bison used a 10-0 run and took a 29-21 lead on a Dottin layup with 6:49 remaining.
• The Nichols lead swelled to 12 (34-22) after a junior Ty Rucker (Bronx, N.Y.) three with 5:21 left before the Leopards scored six of the next eight points to come within eight (36-28) on a senior Jack Schaake (Hampton, N.H.) layup. Using a 13-3 run, the hosts extended their lead to 18 (49-31) after a Rucker layup with 1:42 left and led, 51-37, at the break.
• Rucker hit a three with 17:46 left in the second half to match an 18-point lead for Nichols but a 16-4 Wentworth run – including holding the Bison scoreless over a period or two and a half minutes and without a field goal over a span of 8:49, the Leopards came within six on a Stewart free throw. Freshman Shea Doherty (Hudson, Mass.) hit a three with 7:15 left to end the run.
• With five minutes left, junior Sam Goy (Derry, N.H.) made a layup, cutting the deficit to five. Dottin scored the next five points to push the lead to 10 but Swift followed with a three, bringing the lead back to single digits, Dottin converted five of six free throws down the stretch to extend the lead to 78-65.
• Schaake converted 8-of-10 shots from the floor for a team-high 18 points to go along with eight rebounds and three assists. Sophomore Jack Connell added 11 points and Goy chipped in with 10 points and five rebounds.

SERIES NOTES:

• Having won the last four games, Nichols holds a 32-23 series lead.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth hosts Roger Williams on Saturday.

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