BRISTOL, R.I. (1/25/25) – A 13-point halftime lead was not enough to hold back Roger Williams University, as the Nichols College men's basketball team was dealt an 80-78 loss in conference action Saturday at the RWU Campus Rec Center Gymnasium.

The Bison split the season series with the Hawk and drop to 8-9 (5-5 CNE) with the loss. Roger Williams improves to 12-5 (7-3 CNE) with the win.

Three Bison finished with double-digit points, led by Simon Percy who scored a game-high 22 on 9-of-11 (81.8%) shooting, with five rebounds. Jason Peters and Luke Chapman each notched 10 points, with Peters additionally tossing in four steals and Chapman with eight rebounds. Combined, the Bison shot 27-of-58 (46.6%) from the field, 7-of-19 (36.8%) from the perimeter, and a perfect 7-for-7 at the free throw line.

Nichols opened the game with an 8-0 advantage behind triples from Chapman and Peters, which later grew to an 11-point edge on another trey from Ethan Minarik. The three-point success continued down the line as a second triple from Chapman at 7:17 increased Nichols' lead to 16 points at 33-17, which helped them hold off an incoming 8-0 run by the Hawks that cut the lead down to eight points with under five minutes to go. The Bison ended the half on back-to-back jumpers from Chapman, leading them to a 43-30 lead at the break.  

Roger Williams hit an early three pointer to open the second half, and immediately went to work bringing the difference back under 10 points. Nichols struggled to string more than two points together down the line, with Roger Williams officially erasing the 13-point difference with 2:40 left in the game, tying the score at 66-66.

It all came down to the final 10 seconds, where the Hawks knocked down a game-winning three with just six seconds left on the clock, earning them their 70-68 victory.
Men's basketball will host Gordon College (7-10, 3-7 CNE) for their Cancer Awareness Game on Tuesday, January 28^th at 7:30 PM.