Statistics
Highlights

BIDDEFORD, Maine – The University of New England men's basketball team emerged victorious from a back-and-forth Conference of New England battle with Nichols College, 93-88, Saturday afternoon on Coach Beaudry's Court, marking the Nor'easters' first win over the Bison since 2018.
 
Nichols (6-5, 2-2) led by as many as 11 in the first half, but UNE (6-6, 2-1) took a 41-37 lead into halftime following a 22-8 run before putting together a strong second half to close out the victory.
 
Jayden Thornton led the Nor'easters with 20 points, including a highlight-reel and-1 to beat the halftime buzzer, putting an exclamation point on UNE's late first-half resurgence. Gabe Galarraga scored a career-high 18 points off the bench and was 3-for-4 from deep, as was Dylan Crowley, who followed with 17 points.
 
Dominic Mello scored a game-high 22 points for the Bison, while Olivier St. Louis recorded a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
 
Nichols had the upperhand in the shooting column, finishing the game better than 55 percent from the floor (30-for-54) after hitting at an impressive 62.5 percent clip during the first half. UNE had a cold start, despite knocking down eight first-half triples, before shooting better than 50 percent in the second half to finish at 41.7 percent (30-for-72). Nichols' shooting efforts were hindered by its 21 turnovers, while the Nor'easters committed just nine turnovers.
 
UNE never led by more than six in the second half, and even surrendered the lead with under six minutes remaining. Thornton had the answer to a pair of Nichols free throws, putting the Nor'easters back on top, 78-77. Clinging to an 84-82 lead with less than two minutes to go, Adam Lux came up with a key bucket to deliver a crucial two-possession advantage.  
 
UNE is back in action on Coach Beaudry's Court Tuesday, Jan. 6, hosting Suffolk at 7:30 p.m.