BEVERLY, Mass. (2/27/2026) – The No. 4 seeded Nichols men's basketball team pushed top-seeded host Endicott College to the limit on Friday night in the CNE Semifinal, but came up short at the end of the night by a narrow final of 78-75 inside MacDonald Gymnasium.

The Bison close the cover on their 2025-26 season with a 15-12 (9-7 CNE) overall record.

Graduate student guard Dominic Mello paced the Bison offense in their final game, scoring 20 points on 8-of-19 (42.1%) shooting, along with a matching seven rebounds and assists. Senior guard Javen Flowers-Smith pitched in 16 points, in addition to a pair of steals, while classmate Kuany Teng scored 10 points. Forward Cassidy Bonsu was Nichols' top rebounder with 11 in the effort, which was a career-high for the sophomore.

The Bison shot 30-of-63 (47.6%) from the field, 12-of-24 (50.0%) from three, and made each of their three free throws.  

Noah Rudman scored a tip-in layup to open the scoring on the night, but Endicott countered with 10 unanswered points to gain the early advantage. Ethan Minarik halted Endicott's scoring run with a three at 17:15, but Endicott continued to tack points onto their lead approaching the midway point of the half, with their edge climbing as high as 11 points with 13:00 left. However, Nichols refused to succumb to the pressure and erased the deficit with their own 7-0 run, beginning with a Bonsu dunk, which helped the Bison slowly work their way back into the action. At 4:29, Teng nailed a long-ball triple to tie the score at 33-33, moments before Jason Peters gave the Bison their first lead of the night with a layup 36 seconds later. Before the end of the half, another three would fall off the hands of Bonsu, helping the Bison to a 43-41 lead at the break.

The two sides traded baskets to open the second half, with Endicott closing the gap to trail 51-50 five minutes in. Down the stretch, the teams continued to trade points through seven additional lead changes, but the Gulls benefited from numerous trips to the charity stripe as Nichols encountered some foul trouble. Jumping to the final minute of play, and Nichols trailing by one at 74-73, Flowers-Smith delivered a strong solo effort layup to push the Bison back in front, 75-74, which was quickly followed by a 30-second Nichols timeout. However, right out of the break, Endicott matched the two points with a late layup with 21 seconds remaining, which proved to be the difference maker as two final free throws gifted the Gulls their 78-75 victory.