ABILENE, Texas – For the second straight game the Nicholls State University men's basketball team held a first half lead, only to unravel in the second as Abilene Christian University rallied passed the Colonels for a 71-54 victory on Saturday night.
 
Nicholls (3-9, 0-2 SLC) fell behind early before using an 8-0 run to take the lead at the 15-minute mark. With 10 minutes remaining in the first half, T.J. Carpenter connected on a jumper that gave the Colonels their largest advantage at 19-10. The Wildcats (8-7, 2-0 SLC) responded with a 16-5 run to steal the lead. A JaMakus Horace layup briefly tied the game at 26 apiece before Harrison Hawkins drilled a three-pointer to give Abilene Christian the advantage. The Wildcats made a last-second attempt to increase their lead, but Horace emphatically rejected an Austin Cooke jumper as time expired with Nicholls trailing 31-28.
 
Abilene Christian opened the second period with five straight points, increasing their advantage to eight. The Colonels responded, cutting the lead in half after an Amin Torres layup, but the Wildcats used a 15-4 run to push their lead to 51-36 with 10 minutes remaining in the game. The score hovered around a 15-point advantage for Abilene Christian until Hawkins nailed three consecutive shots from beyond the arc to give increase the Wildcat lead to 22 at the five-minute mark. The two teams traded baskets as Nicholls chipped away points incrementally, but was unable to gain enough traction for a comeback.
 
The Colonels shot 35.1 percent from the floor and just 16.7 percent from three-point range. Nicholls had fewer rebounds (43-36), fewer points off turnovers (16-12), fewer second chance points (9-4) and fewer fast break points (9-8) than Abilene Christian. Despite the loss, the Colonels had more points in the paint (33-26), more blocks (5-3) and fewer turnovers (16-13) than the Wildcats.
 
Carpenter led Nicholls on the offensive end with 14 points while Richie Lewis had a team-high three assists. Sam McBeath paced the squad in rebounds (eight) and steals (two). Five different Colonels registered a block.
 
Harrison and Parker Wentz spearheaded the offensive attack for Abilene Christian with 20 and 16 points respectively. LaDarrien Williams grabbed a team-leading 12 rebounds and Jalen Little dished out five assists.
 
Nicholls will return home to face Houston Baptist at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday in Stopher Gym. Tuesday's matchup 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.