THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University men's basketball team controlled the game for most of the day Sunday, but a last-second buzzer-beating layup allowed Troy University to steal a 65-64 victory in Stopher Gym.
 
The Colonels (2-7) fell behind 9-0 early in the ballgame, but answered with a 12-0 run to take the lead and steal the momentum from the Trojans (5-4). The two teams traded buckets before Nicholls went on a 10-2 run over the final three minutes of the half. Amin Torres' nailed three shots from beyond the arc over that span, punctuated by a three-pointer as the clock expired, giving the Colonels a 32-25, halftime lead.
 
Nicholls opened the second half on a 9-2 run, forcing a timeout from Troy Head Coach Phil Cunningham. Out of the timeout the Trojans proceeded to score 13 straight points to pull within one at the twelve-minute mark. With 8:50 remaining in the game, Ja'Dante' Frye sank a free throw to give the Colonels a four point lead. Troy answered with an 8-0 run to take a 51-47 lead of its own. Nicholls regained the control and went up 56-53 after a T.J. Carpenter layup, but with three-minutes remaining, Musa Abdul-Aleem made a layup to cut the lead to one. The teams traded leads back and forth before Carpenter sank two clutch free throws that put the Colonels ahead 64-63. With nine seconds remaining in the game, Abdul-Aleem drove to the basket and missed two consecutive layups before getting his own rebound and sinking his third attempt as time expired.
 
Nicholls shot 40.7 percent from the floor and 28 percent from three-point range, while surrendering nearly identical statistics of 40.7 percent from the floor and 29.4 percent from beyond the arc. The Colonels downfall may have come at the charity strike as the team connected on just 50 percent (9-18) from the line. Nicholls won the battle of the boards 41-37, but was unable to grab a rebound on the final possession to secure the victory.
 
Torres led Nicholls offensively with 16 points off the bench. Sam McBeath paced the squad with six rebounds and Frye finished with a team-high three assists. Liam Thomas led the team with three blocks to go along with eight points.
 
Abdul-Aleem finished with a double-double to lead the Trojans, scoring 22 points and adding 10 rebounds. Chris Bilbo finished with a team-leading four assists.
 
The Colonels head into an eight-day Christmas and New Years holiday break before returning to action against Spring Hill on Tuesday, Dec. 30 at 6:30 p.m. 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.