RUSTON, La. – The Nicholls State University men's basketball team played some of their best ball of the season on Thursday night, but a late three-point shooting barrage from Louisiana Tech resulted in a 79-54 Bulldog victory.
 
The Colonels (2-6) fell behind 5-0 in the early minutes of the contest before responding to tie the game at 7-7. Louisiana Tech regained the lead and went on an 11-3 run to grab an eight-point advantage. Nicholls answered, pulling within two on a highlight-reel dunk in transition by JaMarkus Horace with eight minutes remaining in the half. Self-inflicted mistakes plagued the Colonels over those final eight minutes as the team committed seven turnovers to allow the Bulldogs' lead to balloon to 14 at the half.
 
The second period was a tale of contrasting shooting percentages. Nicholls shot just 29 percent from the floor and 10 percent from beyond the arc, while La. Tech shot 48.1 percent from the floor and a staggering 60 percent (9-15) from three-point range. Each time the Colonels began to chip at the lead, the Bulldogs answered with a crushing three-point shot to stifle any hopes of a comeback.
 
A bright spot for Nicholls came on the boards as the squad finished with a +23 rebounding margin, by far its highest of the season. The Colonels also outscored La. Tech 32-24 on points in the paint, but were undone by an abysmal 27 turnovers (18 in the first half), which led to 42 points off turnovers for the Bulldogs.
 
T.J. Carpenter led Nicholls offensively with 17 points and added 10 rebounds in the loss. Sam McBeath earned his third double-double in the last four games, posting 12 points and 11 rebounds on the night. Amin Torres and Richie Lewis each had three assists to pace the squad, while Liam Thomas and Travis Julien each contributed two blocks.
 
Raheem Appleby and Xavian Stapleton spearheaded the La. Tech offensive attack with 20 and 18 points respectively, and combined for nine made three-pointers in the contest. Three Bulldogs finished with four rebounds, while Kenneth Smith had a team-leading eight assists.
 
The Colonels return to Thibodaux to host Troy at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday. The game 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.