BEAUMONT, Texas – The Nicholls State University men's basketball team led by as many as 10 points in the ballgame, but a second-half shooting-barrage gave Lamar University a 75-62 win in the conference-opener on Saturday night at the Montagne Center.
 
The Colonels (3-8, 0-1 SLC) fell behind 4-0 in the opening minutes of the game but roared back with a 12-2 run to take a six-point lead at the 15-minute mark. Six minutes later, Richie Lewis dished a no-look pass to Liam Thomas who finished at the rim, giving Nicholls its largest lead at 25-15. The Cardinals (7-6, 1-0 SLC) answered with a 7-1 run to cut the lead to four with two minutes remaining in the first half, but the Colonels pushed back, taking a 31-23 lead into the break.
 
Lamar opened the second period with renewed energy, sinking a fury of fade-away jumpers on a 15-7 run to take their first lead since the opening minutes at 39-38. With 12 minutes left in the game, Kevin Booze drilled a three-point basket to give the Cardinals a seven-point advantage. Nicholls fought back to cut the lead to two, but Lamar connected on two shots from beyond the arc and a free throw to increase their lead to 10 at the six-minute mark. The Cardinals spent the remainder of the contest milking the clock and shooting free throws to escape with the victory.
 
Amin Torres led the Colonels in points (19), assists (5) and steals (3). Sam McBeath paced the squad with six boards and Liam Thomas followed up her career-high six blocks with three against the Cardinals.
 
Anthony Holliday used a 7-of-12 shooting night to cruise to 23 points to lead Lamar. Marcus Owens had a team-high 10 rebounds and Kevin Booze dished out five assists to lead the Cardinals.
 
Nicholls finished with more points in the paint (36-23), points off turnovers (16-14), second-chance points (10-9), and fast break points (14-9) than Lamar. The Colonels also had fewer turnovers and more blocks than the Cardinals.
 
It was a tale of two halves as Lamar shot just 30 percent from the floor in the first half before shooting 60 percent in the second. The Cardinals shot an abysmal 11 percent from three-point range in the first period but improved to 56 percent in the second. Lamar also connected on just 43 percent of its shots from the charity strike in the opening frame before shooting 81 percent in the second.
 
Nicholls will travel to Abilene, Texas for a battle against Abilene Christian at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 10. Saturday's 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.