The Chargers (7-4, 4-1 CCC), whose last CCC home loss occurred on January 25, 1996, were down 29-14, after 12 minutes, to a hot-shooting Bison (9-3, 2-2 CCC) squad, which began the afternoon by going 7-for-8 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers. Nichols completed the first half at 59.3 percent (16-for-27) but was just 11-for-28 (.393) over the final 20 minutes. Trailing 42-28 with 1:58 to go in the opening period, Colby-Sawyer started to chip away and ended the half on a 9-2 run that concluded with a 3-pointer by Pat Kenny (FR, Wethersfield, CT/East Catholic HS) in the closing seconds.
The Chargers were behind 49-45 when they scored 11 straight points to take their first lead since they were up 4-3 in the game’s early stages. Nichols fought back and pulled ahead by one (65-64) on a basket by Casey Butler (SO, East Longmeadow, MA/East Longmeadow HS) with six minutes to go.
Colby-Sawyer pulled even when Chris Condon (JR, Reading, MA/Reading Memorial HS) hit one of two free throws and the Bison regained the lead (67-65) on a jumper by Matt Pezzullo (SO, North Scituate RI/Ponanganset HS) with 5:15 on the clock. One minute later, Scott Butterworth (SO, Hamilton, MA/Hamilton-Wenham Regional HS) drained a 3-pointer to give the Chargers a 68-67 advantage they would not relinquish.
Leading 72-71, Colby-Sawyer scored eight of the game’s final 10 points, including two free throws apiece by the rookie backcourt of Kenny and Tyler Fournier (FR, Westbrook, ME/Westbrook HS) which finished the day with career highs of 16 and 14 points, respectively.
The Chargers, who received 76 of their 80 points from their starting five, were led by Condon’s 18. Tyler Putnam (SO, Hodgdon, ME/Hodgdon HS) added 15 points to the CSC offense, while Andrew St. Clair (SO, Pittsfield, ME/Maine Central Institute) had 13 points and a game-high 14 rebounds in the win.
Nichols’ Butler led all players with 20 points, while teammate Matt Trumbley (SR, Seymour, CT/Seymour HS) had 19. Ryan Moszynski (SR, Enfield, CT/Enrico Fermi HS) scored 11 points off the bench and Pezzullo recorded nine points and nine boards.
Colby-Sawyer will head to Biddeford, Maine for a CCC game versus the University of New England on Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. Nichols also returns to the court on Tuesday when it hosts non-conference opponent Newbury (6:00 p.m.).