Skip To Main Content

Saint Joseph's College of Maine

HOME OF THE MONKS

SAINT JOSEPH’S COLLEGE OF MAINE ATHLETICS OFFICIAL SITE

Jelani Freeman '26
Photo Courtesy of Chris Theodores '25
79
St. Joseph's (ME) SJC 2-4,0-0 Great Northeast
81
Winner Nichols NC 2-4,0-1 CNE
St. Joseph's (ME) SJC
2-4,0-0 Great Northeast
79
Final
81
Nichols NC
2-4,0-1 CNE
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
St. Joseph's (ME) SJC 37 42 79
Nichols NC 41 40 81

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Monks Clipped by Bison, 81-79

KEENE, N.H. – Nichols College (2–4) edged Saint Joseph's College (2–4), 81–79, in the 2025 Keene State College Invitational consolation game at Spaulding Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Saint Joseph's opened strong, building a seven-point cushion midway through the first half, but Nichols responded with strong perimeter shooting, knocking down 8-of-19 from deep in the opening 20 minutes. A late Bison push sent SJC into the locker room trailing 41–37.

Nichols extended its lead to eight early in the second half before the Monks countered with their best stretch of the day—a 10–0 surge capped by a Tong Maiwen (Juba, South Sudan) three-pointer that put St. Joe's ahead 56–54 with just under 12 minutes left. The teams traded blows from there, combining for six second-half lead changes.

The Bison regained control behind continued hot shooting—going 6-for-7 from three after halftime—and a late burst highlighted by a Luke Chapman triple with 1:40 remaining that put Nichols ahead 79–77. SJC freshman guard Davis Mann (Falmouth, Maine) tied the game on a driving layup with 1:25 to go, but Nichols hit two free throws in the final minute and held the Monks scoreless on their last two possessions to seal the win.

STATS OF THE GAME:

Nichols was lethal from long range, shooting 53.8% (14–26) from beyond the arc, including a blistering 6-for-7 effort in the second half. The Bison also capitalized on SJC's mistakes, turning 20 Monks turnovers into 23 points while committing just 13 turnovers themselves.

Despite the loss, Saint Joseph's dominated several key categories, including rebounds (39–18), points in the paint (34–22), second-chance points (17–11), and bench scoring (25–10).

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

LEADERS – NICHOLS:

  • Dominic Mello: 23 points, 5 assists, 3 steals, 7–12 FG, 4–5 3FG
  • Javen Flowers-Smith: 16 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
  • Ethan Minarik: 14 points, 4 rebounds, 4–6 3FG
  • Olivier St. Louis: 12 points, 3 rebounds, 3–3 FT
  • Luke Chapman: 6 points, 2–2 3FG
  • Kuany Teng: 4 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 3 offensive rebounds

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

This afternoon's matchup marked the first-ever meeting between the Saint Joseph's and Nichols men's basketball programs.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's hosts UMaine-Farmington in the 2025–26 home-opener on Tuesday at 7:00 PM.



 
Print Friendly Version