WORCESTER, Mass. (11/30/2025) – In their first game back from the Thanksgiving break, the Nichols men's basketball team overcame a lackluster first half to topple non-conference host Clark University, 75-64 at Hurst Courts.

The win is the second straight for the Bison, with their record now standing at 3-4 (0-1 CNE) overall. With the loss, Clark moves to 5-2 on the season.

Javen Flowers-Smith led the way for the Bison with 28 points against the Cougars, which came by way of 12-of-19 (63.2%) success from the field, his highest shooting performance this season. Ethan Minarik followed with 21 points of his own, a career-high total, while going a perfect 7-of-7 from the field with a 5-of-5 mark from three-point range, as well as a team-high three steals. Dominic Mello was also in double figures with 11 points, while Kuany Teng led the rebounding effort with seven in the win, additionally notching one block. Combined, Nichols finished the day shooting 27-of-49 (55.1%), which has been their best team performance so far in 2025-26.

Nichols took the Cougars up and down the floor early in the first half, with a Minarik triple followed by a Flowers-Smith jumper giving the Bison a 16-12 edge through the first seven minutes of play. The Bison later pushed their lead to five points across the midway point of the half, but the Cougars returned the favor with a quick 6-0 run to jump in front, 22-21. Despite the back-and-forth action, the remainder of the half would favor the host Cougars, with Clark out-battling the Bison 14-10 for a 36-31 lead at the break.

Clark made an effort early in the second to put the game out of reach quickly, building its lead to nine points just over a minute in. However, an early three by Minarik helped put the Bison back on track, with the two sides returning to their neck-and-neck play over the next several minutes. Then, with the score knotted up at 53-53 with 8:44 to go, Nichols exploded for seven unanswered points to take the lead 60-53, included succeeding threes from Minarik and Flowers-Smith less than a minute apart. As was the case for Clark in the first half, the scales would flip towards the Bison the rest of the way, en route to the eventual 75-64 final.

Up next for the Bison is a return to conference play on Tuesday, December 2^nd at Curry College, with game start set for 7:30 PM at Katz Gymnasium.