Final Stats THIBODAUX, La. – A decisive 20-0 run broke a 34-all tie in the second half and T.J. Carpenter led the Colonels in scoring for the second consecutive game, finishing with 18 points, as the Nicholls State University men's basketball team defeated Abilene Christian 79-60 on Thursday night at Stopher Gym.

With the win, the Colonels (12-12, 9-6) remain in a fourth-place tie with Northwestern State, and both teams are two games back of second as the top two teams in the standings will earn double-byes in the Southland Conference Tournament. Seeds No. 3 and No. 4 will receive one bye in the tournament, which is slated to begin in less than two weeks.

Carpenter put together another outstanding effort, making 6-of-10 from the field, 3-of-6 from 3-point range and had a team-high six rebounds. As a team, the Colonels knocked 10-of-22 from downtown, matching their season high in 3-pointers made, and shot 52 percent from the field. One big reason for Nicholls' stellar shooting performance was Jeremy Smith, who missed only two out of nine attempts, finishing with 17 points. Dantrell Thomas also had a great day shooting, scoring 14 points on 4-of-6 from the floor and had six boards as well.

Nicholls was dialed in all game, connecting on five 3-pointers in each half. In the first half, five different players drained one from deep as the Colonels went into the locker room up 33-27.

Abilene Christian (11-18, 2-10), which never led in the contest, managed to tie the score for the second time on the night after just 2:30 off the clock in the final period. An Austin Cooke 3-pointer sandwiched between buckets by Parker Wentz, who had a game-high 20 points, evened the score at 34-34.

Defense started the huge run for the Colonels as Carpenter broke the tie after a steal and a layup, and Smith then sank his only 3-point attempt to make the score 39-34. After a Thomas free throw, Smith scored back-to-back field goals, and Carpenter pushed the lead to 49-34 with 3-ball. Nicholls continued to pour it on, getting a putback by Liam Thomas, and Luke Doyle capped the run at the 11:35 mark with three free throws to make the count 54-34.

Nicholls took its largest lead at 60-39 three minutes later when Sam McBeath found Doyle for a 3-pointer. The Colonels led by double figures the rest of the way to improve their home record to 9-1.

Along with holding their second-straight opponent to 60 points or less, the Colonels were extremely unselfish on offense, dishing out 17 assists on 26 made field goals. Ja'Dante' Frye led the team with four, and a total seven Colonels had at least one helper. Nicholls also had only five turnovers in the win, and Thomas swiped a career-high five steals off of 12 miscues by the Wildcats.

Nicholls will to close out its home schedule on Saturday, March 1 against Incarnate Word. Game time is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Before the contest, Nicholls will honor seniors Pedro Maciel, Jeremy Smith and Dantrell Thomas.