Leading the Bison in their attack was guard Casey Butler [SR/East Longmeadow, Mass] who scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds, and forward Chris Vallee [SO/Ashburnham, Mass.] who also netted 16 in the victory. Vallee played the entire 40 minutes and contributed eight assists and six steals.
The game featured eight ties and seven lead changes. Salve Regina, who had beaten Nichols by 17 (74-57) in Dudley last Saturday, raced to a 10-point lead (22-12 at 13:43 in the first) after a layup from Joe DeSantis [FR/Trumbull, Conn.]. But the Bison went on a 11-1 run capped by a Butler layup to forge the game's fourth deadlock.
Seahawk guard Justin Woodworth [FR/Ipswich, Conn.] scored a game-high and career-high 19 points, including shooting 5-6 from behind the arc, and didn't miss his first field goal until there was only 9:33 remaining in the second half. Before that miss, Salve Regina enjoyed the largest lead of the game (61-50 with 11:47 remaining) after a pair of free throws from Matt Grendal [JR/Foxboro, Mass.].
Ron Powers [SO/Millville, Mass.] drained a three from the corner to help Nichols fight back, and then Justin Lewis [SO/Hopedale, Mass.] scored eight of his 14 points in a nearly three-minute span before a three from Jermaine Baskerville [SO/Hartford, Conn.] brought the Bison within one (65-64). Jah'maine Mercer [FR/Bridgeport, Conn.] finished with a dozen points. The Bison were led by a strong front court attack, outscoring the Seahawks in the paint 42-22.
Nichols (4-7; 1-2 CCC) wins its first conference game of the season. Grendal finished with 13 points, nine assists and Matt Coute [SR/Somerset, Mass.] had 14 for Salve Regina (8-5; 2-3 CCC), who host Endicott on Saturday, January 14, in a doubleheader broadcast on WADK-AM 1540 with Bobb Angel providing play-by-play.
Newspaper Box Score Nichols vs Salve Regina 01/12/06 8:00 pm at Newport, R.I. At Newport, R.I. NICHOLS 81, SALVE REGINA 72 NICHOLS (4-7; 1-2 CCC) Chris Vallee 5-13 5-6 16; Casey Butler 7-12 0-0 16; Justin Lewis 6-9 2-4 14; Jah'maine Mercer 4-6 4-5 12; Ron Powers 3-3 2-4 9; Jermaine Baskerville 3-10 0-0 7; Greg Sturdahl 1-3 1-1 3; Jeff Lindgren 1-3 0-0 2; Jon Costello 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 31-60 14-20 81. SALVE REGINA (8-5; 2-3 CCC) Justin Woodworth 7-8 0-0 19; Matt Coute 6-17 0-0 14; Matt Grendal 4-7 5-5 13; Chris Goodridge 3-7 1-2 8; Joe DeSantis 4-6 0-0 8; Jon Hazzard 2-7 0-0 4; Steve Walsh 2-10 0-0 4; Andrew Rego 1-3 0-0 2; Jay Pallotti 0-1 0-0 0; Quinn O'Brien 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-67 6-7 72. Nichols 35 46 81 Salve Regina 35 37 72 3-point goals-Nichols 5-17 (Casey Butler 2-5; Chris Vallee 1-3; Jermaine Baskerville 1-5; Ron Powers 1-1; Jeff Lindgren 0-2; Greg Sturdahl 0-1), Salve Regina 8-19 (Justin Woodworth 5-6; Matt Coute 2-9; Chris Goodridge 1-1; Jon Hazzard 0-1; Joe DeSantis 0-2). Fouled out--Nichols-None, Salve Regina-None. Rebounds-Nichols 43 (Casey Butler 7; Jermaine Baskerville 7), Salve Regina 27 (Jon Hazzard 7; Matt Grendal 7). Assists-Nichols 17 (Chris Vallee 8), Salve Regina 16 (Matt Grendal 9). Total fouls-Nichols 13, Salve Regina 22. A-112