Final Stats Nicholls-SLU Box Score

Hammond, La. – With less than 30 seconds left and the game tied at 53, redshirt sophomore Bryan Hammond drove through the lane and got a tough basket to go to give the Colonels a two-point lead against Southeastern Saturday night. The Lions would get the ball back and get two opportunities at winning, including what looked to be a game-tying layup that was called off, giving the Colonels the 55-53 win.

The win snaps the Colonels (5-13, 1-5 SLC) six-game losing streak dating back to the Dec. 19 game against North Carolina, and gives Nicholls its first win on the road since defeating ULM Dec. 12.

Sam McBeath led the Colonels with 16 points, going 4-of-7 behind the arc, followed by Dantrell Thomas, who scored some clutch baskets in the second half to finish with 14 points in 23 minutes.

There were ten ties and the lead changed hands seven times throughout the course of the game, as the Colonels scored 29 points in the second period, getting a spark off of the bench in Jeremy Smith, who in only 11 minutes of action scored eight points  on a perfect 4-of-4 from the field.

A low-scoring affair in the first period gave way to five ties and four lead changes between the Lions and Colonels, as a bucket by Bailey put Southeastern up 28-26 to head into halftime. At one point the Colonels led by as many as five points in the period.

While the Colonels found the hot hand from behind the 3-point line hitting five treys in the period, the Lions scored all but ten of their first half points inside the paint for an 18-4 advantage in the lane after 20 minutes of play.

McBeath scored ten of his points in the period on 3-of-5 shooting, while Southeastern was paced by Jeremy Campbell's 11 for the Lions.

The Colonels made a concerted effort to wipe out the Southeastern zone, and scored 16 points in the paint in the second period.

Down by six with 14:52 left in the game, the Colonels rallied to tie the game twice before finally taking a 44-43 lead with 7:29 remaining. From that point, there were three ties and two more lead changes before Hammond's jumper put the game away.

The Lions were only 2-of-6 from 3-point rage and really hurt themselves at the line making only seven of 21 attempts at the free throw line. The Colonels went to the line 13 times and made nine, making five in the first period and four in the second.

Each team finished the game hitting 44-percent of their shots, as Southeastern made 22 overall to the Colonels' 19, but the Nicholls finished hitting eight 3-pointers to Southeastern's two.

Nicholls returns home for the whiteout game Jan. 25 against McNeese beginning at 7 p.m. in Stopher Gym.