SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (12/2/24) – The Nichols College men's basketball team began its 2024-25 conference slate with a 77-64 loss on Monday against in-state rival Western New England University at the Anthony S. Caprio Alumni Healthful Living Center.

Nichols falls to 2-4 (0-1 CNE) overall, while WNE improves to 5-3 (1-0 CNE).

Junior guard Javen Flowers-Smith scored 22 points and had four assists to lead the Bison, while senior guard Darrell Hardge finished in double-figures with 10 points, and nine rebounds, adding in five steals. As a team, Nichols finished the night shooting 42.9 percent (24-of-56) from the field, 34.6 percent (9-of-26) from three, and 53.8 percent (7-of-13) from the foul line, with 37 combined points off the bench.

The Bison and Golden Bears found themselves deadlocked at 12-12 just under seven minutes into the game, before WNE embarked on an 8-0 run to put them ahead 20-12. However, Hardge and Ethan Minarik each knocked down threes for the Bison over the next handful of drives, which helped the Bison remain within range of the Golden Bears up until the final five minutes of the half. In that final stretch, WNE mounted a lopsided 10-0 run, which gave the Golden Bears a 39-22 advantage at halftime.

The Golden Bears came out of halftime with a 7-2 run to extend their lead to 46-24, but the Bison quickly answered with their own 6-0 stretch including successive driving layups from Flowers-Smith to reduce WNE's lead to 16 points. WNE retaliated with a 12-3 run over the next couple of minutes to move to a 61-40 lead before Nichols was able to knock another trey down, courtesy of junior Logan Talbot. Nearly five minutes of back-and-forth action would pass before the Golden Bears added the finishing touch to the night with trips to the free throw line, leading to the eventual 77-64 victory at home.

The Bison head to Gordon College (3-2, 0-0 CNE) Wednesday for another round of CNE action, with tipoff scheduled for 7:30 PM inside the Bennett Center.