Final Stats INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – In an evenly-matched game that featured 11 ties and eight lead changes, the Nicholls State University men's basketball team got back-to-back 3-pointers by T.J. Carpenter, a vicious dunk and tough layup by Dantrell Thomas and Sam McBeath in a key 10-1 run to give the Colonels the lead back as they defeated the IUPUI Jaguars 62-56 Wednesday night in The Jungle.

Trailing 52-48 with less than five minutes remaining in the second half, the Nicholls (3-5) defense clamped down on the Jaguar (4-9) offense and held the home side without a field goal for over four minutes down the stretch and earned the win to give head coach J.P Piper his 100th career victory as Nicholls head coach.

Carpenter, who missed all four shots he took in the first half, could not be stopped when it mattered most, as with less than ten minutes remaining he scored 12 of Nicholls final 22 points to lead the team in scoring with 14 points off of the bench on four 3-pointers.

Nicholls closed out the game on a 14-5 run to pull away for good, while outscoring the Jaguars 22-12 over the final nine minutes to keep the Colonels in the hunt and eventually overcome the IUPUI lead.

Outside of Carpenter coming on strong in the second half, the first 20 minutes belonged to Jeremy Smith as he scored 11 first-half points which led all players at that point, finishing the night with 12 on 5 of 8 shooting. Dantrell Thomas scored just two points in the first half, but got aggressive in the second and went 4 for 4 from the line to finish with 13 to lead the starters.

For the second time this season the Colonels were able to outrebound an opponent, grabbing 39 on the night to IUPUI's 33, led by Sam McBeath who finished with nine and Dantrell Thomas and Liam Thomas with seven each.

Coming into the game, IUPUI shot over 40 percent on the season in their contests but the Nicholls defense held the Jaguars to a 39 percent clip on 20 for 52 from the field, but was 0-12 from beyond three while Nicholls finished with six.  The Jaguars did finish with four players in double figures led by Mitch Patton's 15 points, while Marcellus Barksdale had 10 points and 10 boards for the double-double.

Another key aspect of the game was that the Colonels were not done in by an opponent's free throw total, as Nicholls had another above-average game going 12 for 19 from the charity stripe, while IUPUI only converted 16 of their 25 opportunities.

IUPUI's largest lead of the game was six points with nine minutes remaining in the first half, but the Colonels closed out the period outscoring the Jaguars 17-9, and getting key buckets from the bench as Nicholls outscored, due in large part to Carpenter's 14 points, the Jaguars 30-6 in bench points as J'Dante' Frye scored a career-high six points, with seven from McBeath and the first three points for Pedro Maciel this season on a 3-pointer to pull Nicholls within one with 7:55 left in the first.

The Colonels will be back in action on Friday night, taking on the Indiana Hoosiers in Assembly Hall in Bloomington.