DUDLEY, Mass. (1/11/24) – The Nichols College men's basketball team made some noise on Saturday evening, defeating in-conference opponent Suffolk University in a 68-66 nail-biter at the Nichols Athletic Center.

Nichols extends its win streak to four consecutive games, improving their record to 7-6 (4-2 CNE) overall. Suffolk, with the loss, falls to 8-5 (4-2 CNE).

Javen Flowers-Smith led the Bison with a 30-point performance, shooting 10-of-19 (52.6%) from the field while also tallying five boards. Olivier St. Louis chipped in 10 points and added a career-best 11 rebounds in the win, accounting for his first collegiate double-double. St. Louis also dished out three assists and snuck in two steals. Nichols, despite struggling from the perimeter, finished the night shooting 23-of-55 (41.8%) from the field, scoring 30 of their points in the paint.

The first half saw both teams tied at 8-8 before the Rams took off with a 10-2 run to claim an 18-10 advantage midway through. Suffolk then stretched its lead to as many as 13 points before the Bison retaliated with their own 10-2 run, highlighted by a St. Louis dunk, which helped the hosts close the gap to just five points with 3:00 to play. The two teams then traded baskets over the final few minutes, with Suffolk clinging to a seven-point edge at the half, 34-27.

The teams continued to exchange baskets early in the second half, but the Bison continuously denied the Rams any lead higher than nine points through the first five minutes. Then, with 14:00 to play, St. Louis drained a triple off a feed from Simon Percy to open an 11-2 run for the Bison, which catapulted them into the lead, 50-48. Suffolk would rattle off a quick 9-2 stretchm to flip the lead back in their favor, only to see the Bison return the favor thanks to an and-one layup from Flowers Smith with 4:12 to go. From there, the two teams played to just one more tie, with Nichols eventually winning the contest on trips to the charity stripe.

Nichols next hits the road for a short trip to Wentworth Institute of Technology (2-11, 1-5 CNE) for a 7:00 PM contest at Tansey Gymnasium.