Men’s Basketball Surprises Nichols, 89-83

DUDLEY, Mass. – Suffolk men's basketball had its best showing from 3-point land in over a month to become just the third team to defeat Nichols this season as the Rams shot past the Bison, 89-83, in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at the Nichols Athletic Center Monday night.   

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 89 | Nichols 83
RECORDS: Suffolk (14-8, 9-7 CCC) | Nichols (20-3, 11-3 CCC)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk jumped ahead, 15-8, lead within the first few minutes. That game-opening stretch was thanks in large part to eight points, six of which came from downtown, from Cole LeVangie. Nichols clawed their way back behind seven unanswered points to level the playing field at 15-all 6:44 into the action.  

The lead would change three times before the Bison went up by two possession, 31-26, with just under eight minutes remaining in the first frame. The Rams made their comeback behind an 8-0 rally that was ignited by a William Rowe lay-up. That spurt gave Suffolk a 37-33 edge that turned into a 42-36 gap at intermission after Nate Hale buried a pull-up triple as time expired in the first half. 

Suffolk clutched to the advantage in over the first seven minutes of the second stanza before the Rams really put some distance between themselves and the Bison. Once again LeVangie played a factor in the scoring stretch as the freshman sparked a 14-2 run that pushed the blue-and-gold in front by 17, 71-54, with just under 10 minutes remaining in regulation.  

Nichols did not roll over and give the game to Suffolk as the host pulled back. The Bison outscored the Rams 16-7 over the next five minutes to cut the distance down to eight, 78-70, with 3:27 to go. 

Ram Nation was kept on the edge of its seats for the final three minutes as the Bison put on a full court press to force turnovers. Luckily Suffolk managed to maintain its composure to get out of harm's way including ever time Nichols knocked down a hoop to spark a comeback.  

With time in Suffolk's favor, Nichols played the foul game and made the Rams win it at the line. In the final 15 seconds the blue-and-gold went 6-for-6 at the line to seal the victory.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Keenan Robertson led the way on both sides of the ball with 19 points and 10 rebounds. His double-double performance also featured three assists and two blocks. 
• Aidan Sullivan, who played all 40 minutes, was on the verge of a triple double with 15 points, nine caroms and eight assists. 
• LeVangie recorded 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists. 
• Rowe registered 11 points, three boards, one assist, one block and one steal.
• Conor Creane chipped in 11 points, three caroms, one dime and one takeaway in 18 minutes off the bench.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk improved to 36-14 all-time against Nichols. 
• The Rams are 14-7 against the Bison on the road. 
• Suffolk is now 3-1 versus the Bison in the Jeff Juron era. 
• Robertson registered his third collegiate double-double. 
• Sullivan grabbed a career-high nine rebounds. 
• LeVangie matched a personal-best seven boards.  

POST-GAME PIC
  

COMING UP
Suffolk will play at Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court in its regular-season home finale Wednesday, Feb. 16 against Roger Williams at 7:30 p.m.