Nichols Halts Men's Basketball's Postseason Run

DUDLEY, Mass. – Five student-athletes scored in double figures, including senior Jakeigh Dottin (Cambridge, Mass.), who had a game-high 22 points as the top seeded Nichols College men's basketball team (22-5) defeated fourth-seeded Wentworth Institute of Technology (17-10), 93-84, in the semifinal round of the 2023 Commonwealth Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The first four minutes of the game featured five lead changes, with junior Ty Rucker (Bronx, N.Y.) tying the game at 10-all. Wentworth senior Conor Rubenskas (Bridgewater, Mass.) drained a three on the next possession, giving the Leopards a 13-10 lead. Wentworth upped its lead to five (18-13) with 14:09 left on a three from senior Sam Swift (Arlington, Mass.).
• Nichols scored 12 of the next 19 points to take a 24-14 lead on a senior Quincy Ferbee (San Diego, Calif.) layup and the Bison extended their lead to 13 with 4:36 left when graduate student Matthew Alectus (Hollywood, Fla.) hit a three. Five straight points from sophomore Tyler Stewart pulled the Leopards to within eight (41-33) with 3:47 left, however, a 7-2 spurt capped off by a three from Rucker gave the hosts a 48-35 lead. Sophomore Jack Connell (Walpole, Mass.) drained a three with 35 seconds left, cutting the lead to 10 (45-35) at the break.
• A Stewart layup and a Swift trifecta, sandwiched around a junior Tavon Jones (Linden, N.J.) layup, pulled the Leopards to within seven (50-43) just 45 seconds into the second half. The Bison used an 8-2 run to build a 57-43 lead with 16:41 left. A Connell three with 12:20 left brought the Wentworth deficit to single digits (64-55) but a 10-2 run gave Nichols a 74-57 lead with 8:31 left.
• Alectus hit a three to give the hosts an 83-66 lead with 5:17 left before the Black & Gold scored the next six points, trimming the lead to 11 on a Connell three with 3:38 left. The Bison pushed their lead to 16 with 2:02 left before Wentworth made one last run, trimming the lead to seven on a Swift three with 27 seconds left. Dottin hit two free throws on the next possession, sealing the win for Nichols.
• Swift capped off his Leopard career scoring 21 points, all from behind the arc. He was 6-for-9 in the second half. Stewart recorded a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds as he was 9-for-12 from the floor. Connell tallied 16 to go along with seven assists, Senior Jack Schaake (Hampton, N.H.) scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds in his career finale, while Rubenskas had 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting in his final contest.
• Wentworth had a 35-32 rebounding advantage and turned six offensive rebounds into 16 second-chance points.

NOTEWORTHY

• The Leopards eclipsed the 80-point mark for the 11th time this season
• Wentworth's 17 wins are the most since the 2010-11 season (18)

SERIES NOTES:

• Tonight was the seventh time the two teams have met in the postseason with Wentworth holding a 4-3 edge.

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