BEAUMONT, Texas – Jahvaughn Powell scored a game-high 24 points and Liam Thomas was a block shy of recording his second triple-double of the season, but Lamar closed out the first half on an 18-5 run and never looked back as the Nicholls State University men's basketball team fell, 87-75, Thursday night at the Montagne Center.
 
With the loss, Nicholls dropped to 14-16 overall and 7-10 in league play. Following Thursday's results, seven of the eight spots in next week's Southland Conference Tournament have been secured, with the Colonels on the outside looking in. Nicholls, Central Arkansas (7-10 SLC) and Northwestern State (6-11 SLC) are all still in contention for the last remaining berth. A win over New Orleans would put the Colonels into the tournament, while a loss paired with a UCA win over NSU would eliminate Nicholls. If both Nicholls and UCA lose, several tiebreakers will come into play for the last remaining spot which will be determined Friday.
 
The Colonels had an opportunity to strengthen their postseason chances against Lamar, but a fast start was negated by a pinpoint shooting night from 3-point range by the Cardinals. Nicholls led by as much of seven in the first half, fueled by Powell and Johnathan Bell, before LU closed out the half on a huge run.
 
With the Colonels leading 30-26 with less than five minutes remaining in the first half, Lamar scored the next 10 points to take the lead for good. The Cardinals pushed the advantage to double figures before going into the break with a 44-35 lead.
 
In the second half, the teams traded 3-pointers to keep the deficit at nine, but it would be the only time the Colonels were down by single digits. LU built its lead to 57-40 after just five minutes and led by as much as 18 in the half to pick up the season sweep of the Colonels.
 
The Cardinals hit 12 3-pointers in the victory at a 52 percent clip. Nicholls made seven, but had 26 attempts from behind the arc.
 
Powell had a strong night from the field, connecting on 8-of-12 and 3-of-5 from long range. Bell poured in 19 points, with Thomas and Rutledge adding 12 each. 

Thomas blocked another nine shots to go along with 11 rebounds, nearly tallying his second triple-double in the last three games. Thomas now has 126 blocks for the season, extending his own single-season record.
 
Lamar (17-13, 9-8 SLC) was led by 23 points from Lincoln Davis, who made 4-of-6 3-pointers.
  
UP NEXT
Nicholls will close the regular season Saturday, March 4 against rival New Orleans. Tipoff for Senior Day is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.