WILLIMANTIC, Conn. (12/29/2025) – For the second straight season, the Nichols men's basketball team returned from the holiday break to win against a ranked opponent, defeating No. 23 Wesleyan University in double overtime, 86-83 on the opening day of the Eastern Connecticut State Holiday Invitational.

The Bison, with wins in six straight games, improve to 7-4 (2-1 CNE) on the campaign, while Wesleyan falls to 8-3 overall.

Senior Javen Flowers-Smith paced the Bison offense with 24 points on 9-of-18 (50.0%) success from the field, along with a balanced stat line of six assists, five rebounds and four steals. Junior Luke Chapman was also a top performer in the effort with a career-high 17 points, including a trio of hits from three-point range and a team-high seven rebounds. Dominic Mello and Kuany Teng were the final two Bison to score in double figures, notching 13 and 11 points respectively. Nichols combined to shoot 33-of-73 (45.2%) from the field, with 18 points scored off the bench.

The game also marked the first multi-overtime win for the program since March 19, 2021, at Gordon College (100-99).

Nichols quickly established themselves with five straight points to open the contest, courtesy of a Flowers-Smith layup and Chapman triple on back-to-back possessions. Wesleyan battled back to tie the action at 9-9, opening a stretch of tightly contested play that saw another pair of ties over the next several minutes. With 7:30 to play, and the Cardinals holding an 18-15 lead, it was Nichols' turn to rally with an 8-0 run via four unanswered layups, placing them back in the lead by five at 23-18. Nichols would continue on to maintain a five-point edge at the break, with Olivier St. Louis capping off the half with a late three.

Another Chapman three-point heave kicked off a strong start to the second half for Nichols, in which the Bison recorded three-point plays in three of its first six scores to boost their lead to 15 points, 42-27. Despite holding a double-digit lead over the Cardinals through the midway point of the half, Wesleyan seized its opportunity to steal back some of the momentum with a lopsided 16-1 spree, eventually bringing the score to yet another stalemate at 56-56. Before the final buzzer in regulation, the teams would play to three more ties, with the Nichols forcing a 62-62 deadlock late thanks to a Flowers-Smith layup with 12 seconds left to force overtime.  

The first overtime period failed to produce a winner, with both teams scoring eight points apiece. However, Flowers-Smith was a driving force for the Bison in the second overtime, scoring eight consecutive points to give the Bison a narrow three-point edge with 30 seconds to play. Nevertheless, Chapman and Mello tied up the loose ends with a trio of free throws, locking up the ranked win for the Bison.

Nichols will try to keep its unbeaten streak alive on Tuesday, December 30^th  when they face tournament host Eastern Connecticut State University (8-1, 1-0 LEC) at Geissler Gymnasium. Tip is scheduled for 2:00 PM.