BRIDGEWATER, Mass. (11/13/24) – The Nichols College men's basketball team suffered its first setback of the 2024-25 season on Wednesday night, falling to non-conference opponent Bridgewater State, 98-81 at the Adrian Tinsley Center.

Nichols is now 1-1 on the young season, while Bridgewater improves to 3-0 overall.

Junior guard Javen Flowers-Smith led the Bison with 25 points on 10-of-22 (31.2%) shooting, while senior Dominic Mello added 22 points alongside six rebounds. In his Nichols debut, senior Ryan Savoy was the final player to score in double-figures, notching 12 points with six rebounds, and a game-high two blocks. From a team perspective, the Bison finished the night shooting 33-of-76 (43.4%) from the field.

It was tight game for the first five minutes, with the Bears only leading by a 14-10 margin at the 14:53 mark. However, things quickly transitioned into a stretch of overwhelming Bridgewater offense, as their lead grew to as much as 14 points on a made layup with 6:35 left in the half. In response, senior Darrell Hardge knocked down a triple to spearhead a 9-3 Bison run,  but to little avail as the Bears maintained a 10-point lead at the half, 45-39.

The second half proved to be mostly a back-and-forth affair between the two teams before Bridgewater re-upped their lead to 15 points at 88-73 with under five minutes to play. In a scramble to narrow the gap, Mello then proceeded to score five unanswered points for the Bison on a three-pointer and layup to once again make it a 10-point game, but once again unsuccessfully as the Bears returned the favor with the next four points scored. Including that span, Bridgewater State would finish the game on a 10-3 run, winning by a 17-point difference, 98-81.

Men's Basketball will host the University of Southern Maine (2-0) for their home opener this Saturday, November 16^th at 2:00 PM.