MADISON, Wisc. – The Nicholls State University men's basketball team was no match for a powerful No. 5 University of Wisconsin squad, falling 86-43 at the Kohl Center in front of a crowd of 17,279.
 
The Colonels (1-5) knew they would have their hands full against the highly touted Badgers (10-1), and were held to their lowest scoring output of the season on Saturday afternoon.
 
Less than four minutes into the contest, Wisconsin's Nigel Hayes nailed a three-pointer to put the Badgers up 11-2. At the midway point of the first half, Hayes hit a jumper that pushed the Wisconsin lead to 21. Nicholls was unable to reach double-digit points until Liam Thomas connected on a layup with less than five minutes remaining in the period to bring the score to 39-10. Sam McBeath drilled a shot from beyond the arc with 33 seconds left in the half, but the Badgers carried a 47-15 lead into the locker room.
 
The Colonels shot just 24.1 percent from the floor, 16.7 percent from three-point range and were 0-1 from the free throw line in the first half.
 
Continuing a season-long trend, Nicholls improved in the second period. The Colonels shot a higher percentage from the floor (4.78) and beyond the arc (25.0) than Wisconsin, which shot just 33.3 percent from the floor and 12.5 percent from three-point land. The Colonels also went 5-7 from the free throw line in the second half.
 
Nicholls was outscored 36-26 in the paint, 19-9 in points off turnovers, 17-6 in second chance points, 8-2 in fast break points, and 26-22 in bench points on the afternoon. The Colonels were also outrebounded 41-26 and finished with 21 turnovers compared to just 10 for the Badgers.
 
Amin Torres led Nicholls offensively, scoring 14 points off the bench, all in the second half. T.J. Carpenter had five rebounds and four assists, both team-highs. McBeath finished second on the team in scoring with nine points on 4-of-6 shooting.
 
Sam Dekker paced Wisconsin with 17 points and a team-leading eight rebounds. Nigel finished with 12 point, knocking down all five of his field goal attempts. Preseason AP All-American and preseason Big Ten Player of the Year Frank Kaminsky was held below his season-average in both points and rebounds, but lead the Badgers with four assists in the ballgame. Kaminsky finished with zero rebounds for the first time since Nov. 28, 2012 and scored just 10 points, his second lowest point total of the 2014 season.
 
The Colonels return home to face Arkansas-Monticello at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 16 in Stopher Gym. Tuesday's contest will be broadcast live on KQKI 95.3 FM.
 
Visit geauxcolonels.com for live stats and the most up-to-date information on Nicholls men's basketball.