WILLIMANTIC, Conn. (12/30/2025) - The Nichols College men's basketball team saw a six-game winning streak come to a halt following a 77-68 loss to host Eastern Connecticut State University on Tuesday afternoon inside Geissler Gymnasium.

Nichols shifts to 7-5 (2-1 CNE) on the season, while Eastern jumps to 9-1 (1-0 LEC).

Two Bison finished in double figures in the setback. Graduate student Dominic Mello led the day with 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting, while senior Javen Flowers-Smith totaled 17 points with a team-high four assists. Junior Luke Chapman led the rebounding front with seven, despite the Warriors out-rebounding the Bison by a 49-38 margin. Overall, the Bison shot 26-of-66 (39.4%) from the floor, but struggled from three-point range at just 4-of-21 (19.0%).

The Bison used the first 10 minutes of the contest to battle back from 12-4 down to take a 15-14 advantage following a jumper from Mello with 10:11 on the clock. The Warriors tried again to distance themselves from the Bison, only for Nichols to once again close in to tie the score at 24-24, this time from three by Mello with 6:15 to go. Not long after, another make from behind the arc by Flowers-Smith put the Bison in front by three, which then jumped to five points with the help of two straight Kuany Teng jumpers, Nichols largest lead of the evening. However, Eastern made a late push to close the gap to just one point at the break, with Nichols up 31-30 entering the second half.

The Bison opened the back half with a quick 6-2 run to restore their five-point lead, with Olivier St. Louis scoring four of the points on layups. Over the next several minutes, the Warriors would slowly tilt the scales back in their favor, before five unanswered points at the 15:10 and 12:51 marks of the half game them the lead back permanently at 46-41, forcing the Bison to chase the score the rest of the way. Down the stretch, Eastern's lead would grow to as many as 14 points late, ultimately rewarding them with the 77-68 victory over the Bison.

The matchup with Eastern was the final non-conference tilt of the season for Nichols, who will next shift into full conference play with a road game at the University of New England () on Saturday, January 3^rd at 3:00 PM from the Harold Alfond Forum.