Final Stats

BEAUMONT, Texas – The Nicholls State University football team had two 100-yard rushers and Carey Fortson returned a kickoff for a touchdown but the defense was unable to slow down Lamar's passing attack as the Colonels fell 56-34 Saturday night at Provost Umphrey Stadium.

With the loss, Nicholls drops its third consecutive game to fall to 4-5 on the year and 1-3 in Southland play. The Cardinals improve to 4-5 and 1-3.

Dalton Hilliard Jr. ran for a career-high 111 yards and two touchdowns while adding eight catches for 60 yards. Quarterback Tuskani Figaro also eclipsed 100 yards for the fourth time this season, rushing for 103 yards on 17 carries. Kalen Henderson led Nicholls is passing, completing 18 of 33 for 221 yards and a touchdown.

Nicholls outgained Lamar 483-421 in yards of total offense, but the Colonels had four turnovers while Lamar had none. The Colonels lost three fumbles in the game including a special teams miscue which swung the momentum in favor of Lamar early in the fourth. With the Colonels trailing 35-27, the defense forced a punt but the ball took an unlucky bounce off a Colonel defender and Lamar pounced on it at the Colonel 38-yard line.

Lamar went on to score the game's next three touchdowns including an interception return for a score before Henderson completed a late touchdown pass to Xavier Marcus to make the final.

The Colonels came in ranked second in the Southland in pass defense but Lamar's Caleb Berry torched Nicholls for 257 yards passing and four touchdowns in the first half as Lamar led 35-17 at the break. Berry finished the game 28 of 37 with 329 yards and five TDs.

On the game's opening possession, Berry completed six passes before Kade Harrington, who rushed for 48 yards on 17 carries, scored from 1-yard out to give Lamar the early 7-0 lead.

Despite a 45-yard run by Hilliard, Nicholls came up empty of its first drive and neither team scored the rest of the quarter. However, both teams exploded in the second quarter to combine for 45 points.

Hilliard's first rushing touchdown evened the game at 7-7 at the 12:16 mark in the second, but Lamar quickly answered on a 31-yard score from Berry to Harrington. After a 48-yard field goal by Andrew Dolan pulled Nicholls within four at 14-10, Berry tossed another 31-yard touchdown pass, this time to Jordan Edwards.

On the ensuing kickoff, Carey Fortson juked and sliced his way through the Lamar defenders for a 94-yard kickoff return. The touchdown was the first kick return for a score for Nicholls since Oct. 22, 2011 when Chika Madu took two back against Stephen F. Austin.

Lamar pushed its lead to 28-17 when Berry and Harrington hooked up again for a score with 2:52 left. The Cardinal defense then stopped Nicholls a yard short on a 4th-and-3 at midfield, leading to a 5-yard touchdown pass from Berry to P.J. Henderson with five seconds left in the half.

Much like the Colonels' last road game at SFA, Nicholls made a comeback in the third quarter, cutting the deficit to 35-27. After Andrew Dolan made it 35-20 with a 23-yard field goal, Michael Henry blocked a punt to give Nicholls the ball inside Lamar's 20. Hilliard made it a one-possession game with a 2-yard TD run with 48 seconds remaining in the quarter.

After the unfortunate bounce early in the fourth, things unraveled for the Colonels. Harrington scored on a 9-run run and LU got the ball back on a fumble by Figaro. Berry then connected with Michael Handy for an 18-yard touchdown and Lamar put any thoughts of a comeback to rest when Tyrus McGlothen returned an interception 56 yards to make the score 56-27 with 8:49 left. Henderson's 29-yard TD pass to Marcus came with 21 seconds remaining.

Marcus led Nicholls with 63 yards receiving on three receptions while Erik Buchanan added two for 54 yards. Graitian Gladney paced Lamar with 107 yards receiving on seven catches.

On defense, Chris Bermond led Nicholls with 10 tackles while Chris Lorden had two sacks and a forced fumble.

Nicholls returns to action next weekend as the Colonels head back to Texas to face No. 8/9 Sam Houston State. Kickoff in Huntsville is scheduled for 2 p.m.