HARTFORD, Conn. (2/5/2025) – The Nichols College men's basketball team pulled away in the second half against the University of Hartford on Wednesday, securing themselves a 94-82 conference victory inside Chase Arena.

The Bison, now with wins in three straight games, improve to 11-9 (8-5 CNE) overall on the season. Hartford drops to 4-16 (2-11 CNE) with the loss.

Javen Flowers-Smith led the Bison scoring with 22 points on 9-of-21 (42.9%) shooting, including two baskets from behind the arc, eight assists and five rebounds. Olivier St. Louis had his best scoring performance of his collegiate career, scoring 19 points with eight rebounds and two blocks. Simon Percy earned a double-double in the effort, his fifth of the season, scoring 18 points with 11 boards, and six assists. Respectively, Ryan Savoy notched 17 points in the win, and Jason Peters added his own career-best 15 points.  On the glass, Nichols out-rebounded Hartford 44-31 margin, and finished shooting 38-of-67 (56.7%) from the field.

Hartford opened the scoring to a tightly contested first half, which saw the two sides trade baskets up to a 26-26 tie at the midway point. Hartford then gained a slight edge after rattling off a quick 6-0 run, all the while holding the Bison scoreless for nearly a two-minute stretch to make it 32-26 with 7:00 to play. St. Louis ended the drought for the Bison with back-to-back layups, leading up to another several minutes of oscillating play. Nichols then closed out the half on a high note, scoring seven unanswered points to send the two sides to the intermission tied at 45-apiece.  

The lead exchanged hands three more times through the first nine minutes of the second half, in which neither side gained more than a four-point edge over the other. The Bison then gained their largest advantage up to that point of the game after Flowers-Smith drove in for a layup at the 10:36 mark, spearheading a 14-6 run that also featured a pair of threes from Peters to put Nichols in front 75-66 with 6:00 to go. The lead eventually proved to be enough of a cushion for the Bison, as balanced scoring and free throws helped take care of the rest.

Nichols' next game is scheduled for Saturday, February 8^th at home against Western New England University (15-5, 11-2 CNE). Tip-off is slated for 3:30 PM at the Nichols Athletic Center.