Basketball Recap: Nakyhi Harris Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat Nichols

Bishop Timon-St. Jude took a 38-point loss the last time they faced off against Nichols, but this time they managed to keep it close and that made all the difference. The Bishop Timon-St. Jude Tigers sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with an 83-80 victory over the Nichols Vikings on Friday. Given the Tigers' advantage in MaxPreps' New York basketball rankings (they are ranked 78th, while the Vikings are ranked 239th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Bishop Timon-St. Jude's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Nakyhi Harris, who dropped a double-double on 23 points and 11 rebounds. Harris has been hot, having also posted two or more steals the last seven times he's played. Aaron Hicks was another key player, going 7 for 12 on his way to 19 points and five boards.

Bishop Timon-St. Jude smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in eight consecutive contests.

Nichols' loss came despite strong showings from Mitchell Masiello and Tre Paulfrey. Masiello went 11 of 17 en route to 27 points in addition to five rebounds and four blocks, while Paulfrey went 9 for 20 on his way to 27 points along with six assists and five boards. The dominant performance gave Masiello a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Drew Bennett, who went 5 of 8 en route to 12 points and four steals.

Bishop Timon-St. Jude is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matches, which provided a nice bump to their 10-3 record this season. As for Nichols, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-7.

Bishop Timon-St. Jude will take on Canisius at 3:00 p.m. on January 25th. Canisius is on a seven-game streak of home wins, Bishop Timon-St. Jude a five-game streak of away wins -- so someone will have to leave a streak behind on the court. As for Nichols, they will challenge St. Francis at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Nichols is facing St. Francis at the right time seeing as St. Francis is stuck on a three-game losing streak.