BIDDEFORD, Maine (2/15/2025) – The Nichols College men's basketball team pulled off a close 84-81 win over the University of New England in conference play on Saturday afternoon inside the Harold Alfond Forum.

The Bison improve to 12-11 (9-7 CNE) overall with the triumph, and sweep the regular season series with UNE. The Nor'easters, with the loss, fall to 6-17 (4-12 CNE).

Ryan Savoy highlighted a list of five Bison in double-figures, scoring 23 points on 7-of-11 (63.6%) shooting with six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Olivier St. Louis was next in line with 16 points and also hauled in six boards, while Jason Peters scored 13 points. Simon Percy added 11 points with a team-high seven rebounds, and Javen Flowers-Smith completed the list with 10 points, and five steals. Nichols shot 29-of-51 (56.9%) from the field Saturday, scoring 32 of their points in the paint, and won the battle of the boards, 34-33.

The game was bound to be entertaining right from the get-go, with the first half featuring eight ties and six lead changes. With 7:00 minutes to go in the half, the Bison found themselves trailing the Nor'easters 26-19 but battled back with an 8-2 run to make it a 28-27 score, with Harrison Stanwood accounting for six of the points. Nichols eventually shifted into the lead, 32-31 following a pair of Percy free-throws, only for UNE to return the favor 30-seconds later to make it 33-32. The Nor'easters then knocked down a final triple with 00:21 left, leading them to a 36-33 lead at the break.

The contested play continued through the first seven minutes of the second half, with neither side gaining more than a four-point lead over the other during that span. However, with the score tied at 48-48 with 13:22 left, Nichols stormed back in front with 10 unanswered points that featured four from St. Louis and a Jason Peters three, making it a 58-48 ballgame. Peters later hit a second three-pointer to extend Nichols' lead to 11 points with under 10 minutes left, a difference that proved too challenging a task for the Nor'easters to navigate the rest of the game. Nichols went on to stave off a Nor'easter comeback attempt, securing themselves the 84-81 triumph.

Men's hoops will return to The Hill on Wednesday, February 19^th for a 7:30 PM tip-off against Wentworth Institute of Technology (9-14, 8-8 CNE) at the Nichols Athletic Center.