KATY, Texas – After splitting the season series, the Nicholls State University men's basketball team and rival Southeastern Louisiana will battle it out in the first round of the 2014 Southland Conference Tournament as the teams open up postseason play with a 5 p.m. matchup Wednesday at the Merrell Center.

The Colonels claimed the No. 5 seed with a 10-8 record in Southland play, which was the program's best mark in conference since the 2008-09 season where Nicholls finished 12-4. Overall, the Colonels ended the regular season with a 13-14 record after falling at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in their finale, 58-44.

Southeastern closed out its campaign with a 71-62 win at Lamar, securing their second straight conference bid. The Lions enter the tournament as the No. 8 season after posting a 12-17 overall record and a 7-11 mark in the Southland.

Nicholls will be making an appearance in Southland Conference Tournament for the sixth consecutive season, and it will be the 14th overall. The Colonels have a 7-11 record, with titles in the 1995 and '98 seasons. Nicholls is looking to snap a six-five game losing streak in the tournament, last winning in 2009 with an 80-75 victory over Texas State.

Nicholls took the first matchup against the Lions this season, winning 64-61 in Thibodaux in the opening weekend of conference play. Senior Dantrell Thomas led the way for the Colonels, finishing with a team-high 21 points and seven rebounds. In February, SLU won on its home floor, defeating the Red and Gray 71-66. Thomas had another strong outing with 15 points, and Jeremy Smith scored a game-high 16.

Thomas heads into the postseason as the Colonels' leading scorer, ranking seventh in the Southland in points per game with 15.7. Thomas, who was named third-team All-Southland on Monday, is averaging 12.5 points in Nicholls' last two tournament games.

The Lions are led by All-Southland honorable mention guard JaMichael Hawkins. Off the bench, Hawkins leads Southeastern with 12.4 points per game after scoring 15 in its win over Lamar. Antonnio Benton also averages double figures for the Lions, scoring 11.8 points per game.

Although Benton scored only six points in SLU's win over Nicholls, four Lions reached double figures in scoring, led by Dre Evans and Onochie Ochie with 13 points each. Evans (9.3) is third on the team in scoring, followed by Ochie (8.6)

The game will be broadcast live on ESPN 100.3 FM and KLEB 1600 AM, with pregame coverage scheduled to start 15 minutes prior to tipoff. A live video stream will also be available on the Southland Digital Network.