DUDLEY, Mass. (1/17/2026) - The Nichols College men's basketball team hosted the University of Hartford Hawks for the second game of conference play hosted at the Nichols Athletics Center following the mirrored conference match up in women's basketball earlier in the afternoon. 

The Hawks were stunted down the stretch by Nichols, unable to close a lead that sealed the game at 101-97 in favor of the Bison.

Following the win, the Bison secured their tenth win for a 10-7 overall record on the season, improving their conference record to 5-3. Hartford's loss drops them to 9-7, dipping below .500 in conference play, now at 3-4. 

The leading scorer in tonight's effort was Dominic Mello with his 26 points, followed closely by Javen Flowers-Smith producing his 24, coupled with ten assists to lead the category and secure his first double-double in his time as a Bison. Nichols had five double-digit scorers on the night; The aforementioned Flowers-Smith and Mello, Olivier St. Louis, Luke Chapman, and Kuany Teng. Chapman and St. Louis both shared the title of rebound leader with their eight each, having Chapman split with Teng as steal leader with two a piece.

The first half of play featured high momentum offensive efforts, with both teams seemingly not being able to break away with a concrete lead throughout all 20 minutes of play. Throughout the half, Nichols saw four three-point makes from four different Bison, with their contributions outside the arc helping to keep the continued Hartford lead short. At its largest, the Hawks created a ten-point lead over Nichols, 30-20 at 7:32. Anthony Zigarella's presence on the offensive boards paved the way for a Flowers-Smith jumper to help cut into their lead, followed by a three-pointer from Anthony Zingarella in the next possession from Flowers-Smith himself. Nichols' ability to find scoring opportunities from then on helped keep the deficit at a minimum, seeing the first half close with the score 41-38, Hartford up.

In the second half, the Bison brought a boosted effort from the start to help mount a lead over the Hawks. A St. Louis fast break layup at 18:36 gave the Bison their first lead of the game, with what followed being a heavily contested fight for the game in a finish with six lead changes combined. A key contributor in the Nichols surge in the second half came off of Mello's increasingly hot hand down the stretch. Mello alone produced 18 second half points, nearly matched by Flowers-Smith who posted 16 points as well. On the other end of this Nichols scoring performance, late Hartford heroics almost equalized the game with seconds to spare. With a nine-point lead for Nichols at :41, the Hawks continued efforts in clock management and scoring almost narrowly put the game in reach, at its closest a one-point deficit at :05, 97-96.With the game coming down to fouls, Flowers-Smith and Chapman sealed the game with their shots at the charity stripe, producing a 101-97 win. 

Nichols College men's basketball will travel to Suffolk University to participate in conference play at the Smith Center on Tuesday, January 20th at 7:30 PM.