Nicholls 72, Mobile 64

THIBODAUX, La. – Leading by just two points with almost three minutes left in the game, the Nicholls State University men's basketball team went on a 10-4 run capped by a T.J. Carpenter 3-pointer with 55 seconds left to propel the Colonels to a 72-64 exhibition win over the Mobile Rams Saturday afternoon in Stopher Gym.

In the last tune-up before the season opener next week, the Colonels and Rams played a close contest throughout much of the second half, as the two teams scored 36 points each in the final 20 minutes as the difference came from distance with Nicholls hitting seven 3-pointers on the night to Mobile's three.

The Colonels were led by senior guard Dantrell Thomas who scored 16 points on 6-for-18 from the field with a team-leading six rebounds and six steals. Thomas was the only Colonel to score in double figures, as the staff played a total of 12 players during the contest with JaMarkus Horace scoring nine points and T.J. Carpenter and Luke Doyle each scoring eight with two 3-pointers from both.

Mobile was led by Brandon Morris' 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting, nearly pulling off a double-double as he finished with nine rebounds. The Rams, who return a bulk of their core players from last season, had three players finish the game in double figures with Cody Scott and Kwame Beard scoring 14 and 10 points, respectively.

One of the biggest aspects of the new season which was on display on Saturday was the differences in officiating between last season and this season, as there were a total of 54 fouls called in the game and 71 free throws taken by the two teams. The Colonels and Rams each made 10 in the first half as Nicholls attempted three more than the Rams, but in the second half Nicholls was much more aggressive and was 17-of-25 to finish the game 27-of-42 for a 64 percent clip.

The free throws and 3-pointers by the Colonels in the game was able to help the home side eventually pull away from the Rams, as Mobile finished the game shooting 41 percent from the floor and 79 percent from the charity stripe, with the Rams outrebounding the Colonels 46-36 and converting those chances into a 15-9 advantage in second chance points and 30-26 advantage on points in the paint in the process.

However, the Colonels were much better taking care of the rock, producing 25 Mobile turnovers to their 11, scoring 26 points off of those miscues and also outpacing the Rams 14-4 in fast break points.

Nicholls led by as many as 11 points late into the first half, as the Colonels opened the game with a 9-2 run to set the tone early. That lead didn't come without a lot of work as the Rams outscored Nicholls 17-13 over eight minutes during the middle of the half, pulling within three at 22-19. A J'Dante' Frye free throw snapped a 6-0 run by Mobile, as Nicholls went on a 14-9 run to close the half and go into the break leading 36-28.

Thomas scored 10 of his 16 total points in the opening half, as nine different players scored in the opening frame of the contest.

The start of the second half resembled a free throw shooting contest for much of the first four minutes as there were only two shots from the field made during that time with eight free throw attempts. A three-point swing by the Rams pulled the visitors within two at 42-40 with 14:57 left in on the clock, but freshman Luke Doyle drilled his second 3-pointer of the night to push the lead back to five.

Mobile made a game of it late, as the Rams scored 14 points in just five minutes to cut a seven-point Colonel lead with 11:01 left in the contest to a two-point game with 6:34 remaining down 58-56.

Fortunately, the Colonel defense clamped down holding the Rams to just eight points for the rest of the game while Nicholls scored 14 and was sparked by three consecutive points by Liam Thomas who finished the night with six points and three blocks to give the Colonels a five-point lead.

Nicholls opens the 2013-14 season next Friday night, traveling to take on the Auburn Tigers at 7 p.m.