THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University men's basketball squad outrebounded McNeese State University 38-23 during an 85-80 win at Stopher Gymnasium Wednesday night, giving the Colonels their best start in Southland Conference play since the 2013-14 season.

Nicholls improved to 10-8 (4-1 SLC) with the win while McNeese fell to 6-10 (2-3 SLC).

"I love to win but I love to win when we play well more than anything," head coach Richie Riley said. "I didn't feel like we were at our best from a focus standpoint. I give them credit too. [McNeese] Coach [David] Simmons does a really good job. They have capable shot-makers that make tough ones. When they make shots like that and their inside guys play like that, they're a tough matchup for anybody."

Senior Roddy Peters dropped a game-high 26 points, marking his third straight outing with at least 20 points. Freshman Kevin Johnson added a career-high 19 points on an efficient 8-10 shooting. Seniors Kimani Jackson and Tevon Saddler just missed double-doubles, scoring 11 and 17, respectively, while each grabbing nine boards.

Johnson poured in 12 points in the first half, but the Cowboys took a 43-41 edge at the break, largely due to 6-10 shooting from beyond the arc.

The turning point in the second half came at the 9:31 mark, when a Saddler jumper sparked a 10-1 run to result in a five-point lead for the Colonels at 67-62. Hanging on to a one-point margin with less than a minute to play, senior Jahvaughn Powell found Johnson open for a left-corner trey to put Nicholls back up 80-76.

"Kevin Johnson was huge. He just has a lot of winning things to him – he's just a winning kid," Riley said. "When you're a winning kid and a winning person – when those moments come, it usually goes your way and it did again tonight for him."

The Colonels closed the game by making five of their final six free throws and forcing a miss on a two-pointer while up 83-80 with three seconds on the clock.
Nicholls moves to 3-0 during SLC play at Stopher and hopes to move to 4-0 Saturday in a contest against Central Arkansas. Tipoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. or approximately 30 minutes after the women's contest.

Get your season or single game tickets now by calling 985-448-4790 or visiting nichollstickets.com. To stay up to date with Nicholls men's basketball, follow the team on Twitter @Nicholls_MBB.