BEVERLY, Mass. (2/26/2026) – With their 104-91 victory over No. 5 seeded Roger Williams in the CNE First Round Wednesday, the No. 4 Nichols men's basketball team advances to the Semifinal Round to face the CNE's top-seeded program, Endicott College.
The game will take place at MacDonald Gymnasium, with a start time of 7:30 PM.
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CNE Tournament Central
How They Got Here
The Gulls, who also rank No. 13 nationally on the most recent D3hoops.com Top 25 poll, enter Friday's contest with a 24-1 (16-0 CNE) overall record, one of the program's most successful seasons to date. On the flip side, the Bison advance to their first conference Semifinal since the 2022-23 campaign, and hold a 15-11 (9-7 CNE) overall record, with wins in three of their last four contests.
Last Time Out
The two teams last met on January 31
st, with Endicott taking the win at the Nichols Athletic Center, 90-78. Prior to that, the Bison traveled to Beverly on November 19
th in what was the first CNE contest of the regular season for both squads, with the win also falling in favor of Endicott, 84-73.
All time, the Gulls hold the slight edge on the overall record with Nichols at 25-24, with wins in four straight meetings.
Who to Watch
The Bison delivered an all-around team effort in their first-round victory, which included a 20-point outing from junior guard
Ethan Minarik, with all six field goals coming from beyond the arc. Minarik made up a list of five Bison in double figures, with senior
Olivier St. Louis also present with 17 points and a game-high 15 rebounds, his ninth double-double performance of the season.
Senior guard
Javen Flowers-Smith continues to be Nichols' top offensive threat, with his season totals now standing at 513 points (20.5 AVG), as well as a team-leading 127 assists and 51 steals. St. Louis remains the defensive leader with 211 rebounds and 17 blocks, while ranking second on the Bison with 33 steals this season. St. Louis is also the top shooter for the Bison with a minimum of 50 attempts (51.9%), while Minarik leads the three-point attack at 49-of-104 (47.1%) this season.
The Bison currently rank as the top scoring offense in the CNE, with a total of 2,151 points. Their 82.7 points per game average ranks second in the conference, only behind top-ranked Endicott (86.4).
