THIBODAUX, La. – With a Southland Conference Tournament spot already guaranteed, the Nicholls State University men's basketball team will spend its final two games battling for preferential seeding, beginning with a Senior Day matchup against Central Arkansas at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday in Stopher Gym.
 
The Colonels (8-18, 5-11 SLC) moved into a tie with New Orleans for seventh in the conference standings, and hold the tiebreaker after sweeping the season series against the Privateers with an 89-79 overtime win on Monday. Nicholls controls its own destiny and can secure the seventh seed by winning its final two regular-season games. The Bears (2-25, 2-11 SLC) have struggled this season, but picked up wins over New Orleans and Southeastern Louisiana, and hope to play spoiler for the Colonels on Thursday night.
 
In conference play, Nicholls is averaging 63.6 points and surrendering 70.2 this season. The Colonels shoot 43.3 percent from the floor and 28.8 percent from three-point range, while allowing 43.6 and 34.2 percent. Nicholls has a -2.1 rebounding margin and -2.3 turnover margin in Southland play. Despite their offensive struggles, the Colonels are fifth in the conference in field goal percentage defense and blocked shots this year.
 
Nicholls leads the all-time series with Central Arkansas 10-7, and has won the last two matchups, including a 71-61 victory in Conway on Jan. 24.
 
T.J. Carpenter and Ja'Dante' Frye lead the Colonels offensively, averaging 12 and 10.9 points per game respectively. Richie Lewis tosses 2.8 assists per contest and grabs 1.5 steals, both team-highs. Liam Thomas swats 1.4 blocks per game to lead Nicholls.
 
Jordan Howard spearheads the Bears' offense with 16 points per contest, shooting 44.8 percent from the floor and 41.7 percent from beyond the arc. Jake Zuilhof averages seven boards and Mike Martin 4.7 assists per game.
 
The Colonels will host Central Arkansas for Senior Day on Thursday before traveling to Hammond for their regular-season finale against Southeastern Louisiana at 7 p.m. on Saturday. Both games will be broadcast live on KQKI 95.3 FM.
 
Thursday's game will also benefit the Nicholls Can! food drive. Anyone who brings two canned goods to Stopher Gym will receive free admission. The Nicholls CAN! drive has collected over 12,000 items for area food banks since 2012. For more information, visit nicholls.edu/nichollscan or call 985-448-4597.
 
Visit geauxcolonels.com for live stats and the most up-to-date information on Nicholls men's basketball.