THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University men's basketball team outscored Spring Hill 50-26 in the second half Wednesday to roll to an 85-65 triumph inside Stopher Gym.
The Colonels (5-4) shook off a cold-shooting first half, converting just 28 percent (13-47) of field goals and 6-of-23 long-range attempts. Nicholls looked to be in control early, tallying seven of the first 10 points. Graduate transfer
Jeremiah Jefferson nailed two triples in the first four minutes with his second sparking an 8-0 run to put the Colonels ahead 15-6.
"It was similar to our last game at home," Nicholls head coach
Austin Claunch said. "We had a good start and just for whatever reason our energy dropped a little bit, but you have to credit them. They are a good offensive team. They could make shots and they made some tough plays. They gained confidence and when you let a team like that gain confidence you'll be in for a dog fight."
Spring Hill (2-4) also made six treys in the first half but did so with nine less attempts. Justin Allison netted back-to-back threes midway through the stanza to pull the Badgers within one at 20-19, and Jared Holland followed suit with a bucket that tied the game at 22 with 10:04 left.
The Red and Grey then rolled through a dry spell lasting 6:05 where it missed 11 consecutive field goals, allowing Spring Hill to pull ahead 33-27 on a 9-0 run. Following a three from graduate transfer
Gavin Peppers at the 1:03 mark that tied the game at 35, the Badgers drained a layup and two free throws to take a four-point lead into the break.
A trey by Jefferson at 17:01 in the second half ignited a 20-2 Nicholls run that handed the home side a comfortable 61-47 margin. Jefferson spotted seven points during the scoring barrage and junior Brandon Moore chipped in six.
"The second half I don't really think it was about adjustments. We were getting good looks. We still didn't shoot it great, but we really tried to impose some physicality in the game. I just thought as a whole - we played with better purpose in the second half," Claunch said.
Spring Hill notched three straight trifectas in a 40-second stretch to pull within 12 at 73-61, but the Colonels outscored the Badgers 12-4 in the final four minutes to improve to 2-0 at home this season.
Jefferson led all scorers with 21 points. Nicholls had three student-athletes with 10-plus boards, including Moore who added 12 points and a team-high five assists for the squad's first double-double of the season. Sophomore
Kevin Johnson poured in 17 points and junior
Danny Garrick contributed 11.
"We came out really flat," Moore said. "Some games that just happens. We had to make adjustments and come out with more energy – come out of halftime and warm up a little harder. We need to come out more aggressive from the beginning. We weren't playing hard. We need to come out with the same energy that we came out with after halftime."
Allison was the spark plug for Spring Hill, managing 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc.
The Colonels dominated in the paint, outscoring the Badgers 42-22. Nicholls also recorded 18 points on 17 Spring Hill turnovers.
The Colonels will have a 16-day window without a contest due to final exams, traveling to face Boston on Dec. 15.
Get your season or single-game tickets now by calling
985-448-4790 or visiting
nichollstickets.com. For the latest news on Nicholls men's basketball, follow the team on Twitter
@Nicholls_MBB.
