Final Stats THIBODAUX, La. – Playing in only its second home game of the season, the Nicholls State University men's basketball team used a 16-4 run spanning 3:24 between the first and second period to extend its halftime lead and held off a furious rally by Central Arkansas in the end in an 83-79 win over the Bears Thursday night in Thibodaux.

With the win the Colonels improve to 2-9 on the season and 1-0 in Southland Conference play, snapping a seven-game losing streak dating back to Dec. 1. Central Arkansas falls to 5-6 and 0-1 in league play. Nicholls improves to 2-0 at home and has that same mark when scoring 80 or more points in a game.

A balanced Nicholls scoring attack proved to be the difference for the Colonels on the night, as the team finished with four players scoring in double figures led by Fred Hunter's 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting. T.J. Carpenter scored in the double-digits for the ninth time this season, finishing with 17 points, followed by a pair of season-highs in Jeremy Smith's 16 and Shane Rillieux's 15.

For the just the third time this season the Colonels took a lead into halftime, as the lead switched hands three times during the first half with three lead changes. Holding a slim 30-29 lead with less than 2:30 remaining in the first, Rillieux exploded offensively scoring six of the final eight Nicholls points to close the period as the Colonels used an 8-2 run to go into the locker room up 38-30.

Seven different Colonels players scored in the half, as both Rillieux and Carpenter each had eight to pace the Colonels, getting 11 combined points off of the bench from Amin Torres and Linden Smith-Hyde. After struggling a bit offensively through the first ten minutes, the team was able to regroup quickly and outshot UCA by four baskets to finish with a 43-percent clip from the floor.

After a pair of free throws by Carpenter and a 3-pointer by UCA to start the second, Smith scored six-straight points to give the Colonels their largest lead of the game with an 18-point, 46-33 lead.

Although the Colonels would not relinquish the lead for the rest of the contest, Central Arkansas cut the lead drastically and pulled to within two of Nicholls with less than ten minutes remaining in the game, outscoring the Colonels 26-15 over a nine minute span to make the score 61-59. Fortunately, a five-point swing and 10-3 run pushed the lead back to nine points with less than five minutes remaining.

Hunter was a catalyst in the period, going 6-for-9 in the second from the field and getting key layups when UCA began to press the Colonels the length of the court. The senior went to the line six times and made four, while the Colonels as a team was 22-of-35 from the line behind Rillieux's career-tying nine makes from the charity stripe.

Central Arkansas came into the game forcing 16 turnovers per contest against their opponents, but on Thursday the Bears were forced into 22 and Nicholls capitalized outscoring UCA 21-13 in points off turnovers. Nicholls also held a 40-38 advantage in points in the paint and 13-10 advantage on second chance points with 12 offensive rebounds, while the Bears emptied their bench and scored 28 points.

Nicholls returns to action on Saturday afternoon taking on the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles who defeated Southeastern La. 86-72 in Hammond Thursday night.