WENHAM, Mass. (12/4/24) – The Nichols College men's basketball team was able to force overtime against Gordon College Wednesday night, but came up short in the extra period by a score of 85-81 inside the Bennett Center. 

The Bison are now 2-5 (0-2 CNE), while the Fighting Scots move to 4-2 (1-0 CNE).

Junior Javen Flowers-Smith led the Bison with 26 points, shooting 10-of-21 (47.6%) from the field and 6-of-13 (46.2%) from beyond the arc. He also contributed three rebounds, two assists and one steal. Sophomore forward Simon Percy also posted double-figure points with 18 on the night, going 7-of-12 () from the field and knocking down a pair of three-pointers. Graduate student Ryan Savoy led the team with 17 rebounds, a career-best mark.

Despite the setback, the Bison shot 31-of-71 (43.7%) from the field and finished with their best three-point shooting performance of the season, going 13-of-35 (37.1%).  

Percy opened the scoring for the Bison with back-to-back layups in the game's first minute, introducing what would be an evenly matched half between the two sides. With Gordon in front 10-7 five minutes in, the Bison took off on a 7-2 run capped by an Olivier St. Louis layup to take a 17-12 advantage over the Fighting Scots. Gordon quickly answered back with their own 8-3 run, forcing the score back to a 20-20 stalemate at the midway point. Despite a second attempt at creating a gap, Nichols was unable to distance themselves from the Fighting Scots as the Gordon attack produced a 16-3 run over the final 5:30 of the first half, rewarding the home team a 40-34 lead at the intermission.

The two teams played neck-and-neck through the opening 10 minutes of the second half, with Gordon clinging onto a five-point lead, 55-50 with 10:33 to play. Shortly thereafter, a pair of layups increased Gordon's lead to as many as nine points, forcing the Bison into a timeout. As play continued, the Bison struggled to catch up to the Fighting Scots, until freshman Harrison Stanwood combined with Flowers-Smith for successional threes, bringing the Bison to within one of the hosts at 72-71. With 00:37 left in regulation, and Nichols trailing 76-73, a final triple from Jason Peters tied the score at 76-76, moments before the Fighting Scots narrowly missed a buzzer-beating half-court shot by way of a previously ruled travel, forcing overtime.

In the extra period, a jumper from Gordon with under a minute to play gave the home team a five-point lead. The Fighting Scots then cashed in on two final free throws, sealing the 85-81 OT victory.

The Bison will be back at the Nichols Athletic Center this Saturday for a 3:30 PM tip-off against Roger Williams University (4-2, 0-0 CNE).