BOSTON, Mass. (1/15/25) – The Nichols College men's basketball team saw its win streak come to a screeching halt on Wednesday night, as a late buzzer-beater by conference host Wentworth Institute of Technology dealt them a heartbreaking 72-71 loss inside Tansey Gymnasium.

The Bison are now 7-7 (4-3 CNE) with the loss, while the Leopards improve to 3-11 (2-4 CNE) with the win.

Despite the loss, the game was highlighted by Javen Flowers-Smith, who scored his 1,000th career point in the first half against the Leopards.

The junior guard also led the Bison, scoring 25 points on 9-of-21 (42.9%) shooting and pulled in four rebounds, including three offensive. Ryan Savoy also scored in double-figures, notching 17 points with five rebounds. Olivier St. Louis led the team with nine boards, and also dished out four assists with nine points scored. Nichols ended the night shooting 24-of-59 (40.7%) from the field and 7-of-18 (38.9%) from the perimeter, and out-rebounded the Leopards by a 41-31 margin.

Wentworth came out firing and jumped out to a 16-6 lead to lead over the first five and a half minutes of action. However, the home hot streak would be short lived as Nichols stormed back with a 13-5 run that saw baskets from five different Bison players, turning their 10-point deficit into just two with 9:02 left in the half. The two sides would then trade baskets down the stretch, until Nichols claimed its first lead of the game at 35-34 thanks to a Flowers-Smith triple with under a minute left, shortly before he cashed in on a last-second layup to send the Bison into the intermission leading 37-36.

The Leopards returned from the break with a burst of energy, scoring the first eight points of the second half to flip the lead back in their favor, 44-37. Nichols, as they did in the first half, continued to show resiliency by erasing the deficit to return to the lead 57-55, this time thanks to a three-pointer by Luke Chapman, before extending their edge to 59-55 on a pair of Savoy free throws. The two sides then traded baskets through the remaining nine minutes until, with 00:07 left, a Savoy layup gave Nichols a close one-point edge nearing the final buzzer. That proved to be enough time for the Leopards, however, as they weaved their way back down the floor to hit a last second corner jumper at the buzzer to claim the victory.

Nichols returns home Saturday to face the University of New England (4-9, 2-4 CNE) inside the Nichols Athletic Center. Tip off against the Nor'easters is slated for 3:30 PM.