SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (February 17, 2026) – The Western New England men's basketball team picked up a nail-biting 79-78 win on Tuesday night inside the Anthony S. Caprio Alumni Healthful Living Center, defeating the Nichols College Bison behind a career high 16 points from Will Laplante III and another double-double from Luka Vlajkovic. 

Records:

• Western New England: 19-5, 12-2 CNE
• Nichols College: 13-11, 8-7 CNE

How it Happened:

First Half:

• Sophomore Eddie McCoy had the opening five points of the game for the Golden Bears while Nichols had a quick 6-2 lead evaporate after Luka Vlajkovic collected an offensive rebound and scored to put the Golden Bears ahead 7-6 in a fast-moving opening half. Will Laplante III came off the bench and drained back-to-back triples to get a rise from the crowd, putting WNE ahead 13-7 at the 14:55 mark.
• Laplante III was up to nine points, seeing his third triple go down with 13:03 left, while both Avery Mickens and Jason Britschge contributed to the WNE offense, Britschge hitting a layup and a foul shot, giving the Golden Bears a 21-14 lead. McCoy then lifted WNE to its first double-digit lead of the night, canning a pair of free throws with under nine minutes to play, giving the Golden Bears a 28-18 lead. 
• Western New England's lead held around the ten-point mark until a quick 6-0 run by the Bison, capped by a triple from Kuany Teng, brought Nichols right back within striking distance again. Nichols trailed by just a point with 2:08 left to play in the half, nearly coming all the way back. The Golden Bears then saw Vlajkovic and Laplante III nail a pair of triples in the final two minutes of the half, with the Bison sinking a pair of free throws to end the half, seeing Western New England come away with a 42-38 halftime lead. 
• The Bison shot a solid 13/18 from inside the arc in the opening 20 minutes, going just 2/13 from deep. Western New England dropped six three-pointers in the half, shooting 40% from the floor overall. 

Second Half:

• The opening two minutes saw both teams exchange point-for-point before the Bison got back within two again with over 17 minutes to play. WNE was not able to hold off the Bison until the 14-minute mark of the second half when Will Laplante III continued to score, hitting a jumper off an offensive rebound, while Matt Houde dropped five points and Luka Vlajkovic a triple that saw Western New England grow its lead to 12 points, its largest of the game with 12:10 to play. 
• The Golden Bears continued to hold the lead, but the Bison fought back from down 12 to get within four with 6:51 remaining as Javen Flowers-Smith and Ethan Minarik led the Bison on offense. Nichols got within three twice, the first time with 5:30 to play and the next with 4:16 remaining, not allowing Western New England to finish off the game with ease. 
• From down 12 in the half to tying the game with 2:27 remaining, Nichols fought all the way back as Kuany Teng hit a layup and a foul shot to tie the score at 75. Luka Vlajkovic answered with 1:27 remaining, hitting a jumper from the left side of the floor to give WNE a 77-75 lead. Down the stretch, Nichols took the lead with 13 seconds remaining after Dominic Mello dropped a pair of free throws, giving Nichols its first lead since the opening minutes of the game.
• Following a timeout, the Golden Bears came out and drew up a play that saw Will Laplante III cap off his career night, scoring a driving layup with four seconds remaining, giving the Golden Bears a 79-78 lead. With the final possession of the game, Nichols tossed up a triple that clanked off the front of the rim, giving WNE the one-point victory.
• Western New England went just 4/19 from the outside the arc the second half, shooting 14/37 overall, 38% from the field. Nichols shot 42% from the floor, hitting three of their seven triples. 

Inside the Lines:

• Will Laplante III picked up a career-high 16 points on 6/12 shooting, going 4/9 from distance in the win. Laplante III also scooped up six rebounds and had a pair of assists in the win. 
• Luka Vlajkovic notched his 12^th double-double of the season, going for 20 points on 7/16 shooting, dropping two triples, and picking up 13 rebounds. Vlajkovic also had a pair of assists, a block, and a steal in the win. 
• Eddie McCoy was in double figures with 15 points, seven rebounds, two steals, and an assist in the game. Matt Houde dropped 13 points on 4/11 shooting, picking up five rebounds and three assists.
• Nichols had four in double figures, with Ethan Minarik (16 pts.), Dominic Mello (14 pts.) Javen Flowers-Smith (14 pts.) and Kuany Teng (12 pts.) leading the Bison. 
• Tuesday night's win marks the fourth straight win for WNE over Nichols all-time.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears wrap up the 2025-2026 regular season with a road contest at Johnson & Wales University on Saturday, February 21, at 3:00 PM. The Golden Bears have already locked up the second seed in the upcoming Conference of New England Tournament and will host a semifinal game next Thursday, February 26, at a time to be determined.