DUDLEY, Mass. (1/24/2026) – The Nichols men's basketball team turned in a dominant 112-83 conference win over the University of New England on Saturday inside the Nichols Athletic Center.

With the win, the Bison improve to 10-8 (6-4 CNE) on the season, while UNE drops to 8-9 (4-4 CNE) overall.

Nichols was well represented on the score sheet, with the bench producing a total of 44 points. Dominic Mello was the leader in the win, scoring 24 points on 10-of-14 (71.4%) shooting, along with a complete stat line of six rebounds, eight assists, two steals and a block. Olivier St. Louis was also a contributor with 19 points of his own, as well as a team and career-high five steals, while Jason Peters put up 14 on a perfect 4-fo-4 mark from both the field and free-throw line. Luke Chapman was the last remaining Bison to score in double figures with 11 points, while Kuany Teng hauled in a game-best nine boards.

The 112 points scored by the Bison was the highest single-game total for the program since January 19^th, 2022, where they defeated Western New England, 114-105 (OT). Additionally, Nichols finished 41-of-64 (64.1%) from the field, their best overall performance dating back to January 24^th, 2006 against Anna Maria, and the second highest mark all-time for the program.

The Bison stampeded out of the gate with an early 11-2 advantage, backed by triples from Ethan Minarik and Noah Rudman in the opening five minutes of action. As play continued, the Bison started to find equal success from inside the paint, with the Bison firing off a 14-5 run over the next six minutes to further their lead to 18 points at 32-14, with Peters accounting for five of the points. Throughout the remaining time in the half, Nichols would return to lead by 18 points on three more occasions, but never beyond that as the Nor'easters ultimately closed the gap to 14 at the break, trailing the Bison 56-42.

UNE outpaced the Bison by a 10-3 margin to open the second half, trimming the difference to under 10 points with 15:00 to play. However, the storm surge would be short lived as Nichols answered back with a 10-2 run of their own, restoring their lead to double digits at 69-54. After a solo layup by the visitors at  11:55, the floodgates opened for Nichols who proceeded to score nine unanswered points, including a Teng triple off a pass from St. Louis, elevating Nichols to a 21-point lead with under 10 minutes remaining. As the half continued, the Bison scoring right along with it, as their lead climbed to as many as 30 points on a Joey McGovern rainbow from three, which was just moments after an electrifying dunk from first-year Deshawn Faulk Jr. on a fastbreak. When all was said and done, Nichols' hot shooting paid off in the form of a 29-point, 112-83 victory.

The Bison will have a week-long break before taking on Endicott College (16-1, 8-0 CNE) at the Nichols Athletic Center on Saturday, January 31^st at 3:00 PM.