DUDLEY, Mass. (1/7/24) – Behind one of their best shooting performances of the season, the Nichols College men's basketball team earned its third consecutive victory over conference opponent University of Hartford, 80-72 on Tuesday at the Nichols Athletic Center.

With the win, the Bison improve to 6-6 (3-2 CNE) overall.

Nichols, who collectively shot 30-of-62 (48.4%) from the field, had six different players score in double figures against the Hawks. Simon Percy led the night collecting 13 points on 5-of-9 (55.6%) shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Classmates Luke Chapman and Ethan Minarik scored 14 and 13 points respectively, both of which were career-bests for the sophomores, while Chapman also reeled in nine rebounds. Javen Flowers-Smith additionally amassed 14 points in the effort, while Olivier St. Louis and Ryan Savoy each scored 10 apiece.

The two sides played to a 6-6 draw through the game's opening five minutes, moments before the Bison put up 11 straight points to go ahead by nine at 19-10,
With Hartford owning a 10-8 lead through the game's first six minutes, Nichols jumped in front with a dominant 13-0 run – highlighted by triples from Chapman and Minarik – en route to a nine-point, 19-10 lead at the midway point of the half. The Bison then increased their lead to as many as 11 points down the stretch on a Flowers-Smith jumper inside the paint with 6:26 left, but Hartford wound up getting the last laugh in the half with a 7-0 run through the final two minutes,  sending Nichols into the halftime break leading by just three at 33-30.

The Bison brought the energy out of the locker room, with Percy slamming home back-to-back dunks to open the second half. Not long after, Nichols forged ahead with a 7-0 run that brought their lead to 45-33, moments before consecutive layups by Justin Peters made it a 17-point ballgame with under 10 minutes to play at 60-43. Nichols would manage to maintain a double-digit lead over the Hawks for most of the remaining second half, with them winning the game by 10 points thanks to a third and final dunk by Percy.

The Bison will have the rest of the week off before hosting another conference opponent in Suffolk University (8-4, 4-1 CNE) on Saturday, January 11^th for a 3:30 tip off at the Nichols Athletic Center.