The Bison move back above the .500 mark (7-6) with the win, while getting to 2-4 in CCC games. UNE now sits at 2-11 overall, 1-5 in conference outings.

Sophomore Matt Langadas (Casco, Maine) led all scorers with 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor. Junior Sam Horning (Falmouth, Maine) helped the Nichols reserves finish with a 45-17 advantage by netting 20 points, and only missed two of his 10 field goal attempts in the process. Horning and sophomore Marlon Bennett (Stratford, Conn.) each dialed up four made baskets from long distance, and Bennett's 12 points was matched by junior Ryan Sheehan (North Attleboro, Mass.).

Nichols also got team-highs of eight rebounds from sophomore Joe Gallant (Salem, N.H.), and nine assists from first-year Gustave Koumare (Harlem, N.Y.).

For the Nor'easters, junior Charles Fenner III (Bronx, N.Y.) tallied 20 points to go with a game-best three steals. Classmate Joshua Butler (Nantucket, Mass.) threw down a trio of dunks and dropped in seven free throws on the way to 15 points, which became a double-double with his 11 rebounds.

Sophomore Jake Abel (Fairfield, Calif.) ended one assist shy of similar status, going for 12 points and nine helpers. Senior Conor Draleau (Shirley, Mass.) and first-year Devin Thompson (Winthrop, Mass.) scored eight points apiece in support for UNE.

The hosts shot 44.6 percent (29 of 65) from the field in the contest, and had a 30-19 edge in points-off-turnovers.

Neither side could hold onto the lead in the early-going, with nine changes in the initial 10:39. A 13-4 spurt by Nichols provide the first substantial separation and bumped the margin up as high as 10 (40-30), before the difference settled on eight (45-37) at intermission. Abel scored all of his points (12) in the first frame to keep the Nor'easters close, going 5-for-5 from the floor.

UNE cut into the deficit (48-45) as the second period began, and remained down just four with 14:33 left on the clock. Within the three minutes that ensued, the gap grew to 15 (65-50) behind a 14-3 run by the Bison. The visitors connected from deep on four consecutive possessions to spur the surge.

Although the hosts had it back down to 10 on three occasions in the moments that followed, Nichols executed a quick 8-2 span that increased the cushion to its highest point (86-67) with just a few minutes remaining.

Langadas and Horning combined for 29 of their 42 points after halftime, and were nearly matched by Fenner III and Butler in the stanza, as each registered 14 points for the Nor'easters. The bench for the Bison out-scored that of the opponent by 21-2 in the final 20 minutes.

Nichols and UNE are both at home on Tuesday (7:30 p.m.), as the Bison are set to take on Roger Williams University and Big Blue will face Eastern Nazarene College.