CONWAY, Ark. – The Nicholls State University men's basketball dropped a 74-68 decision to the University of Central Arkansas Saturday at the Farris Center despite a career-high 26 points and seven triples from graduate transfer Gavin Peppers.

The Colonels (10-9, 3-3 SLC) connected on half of their field goals during the first 10 minutes of the contest but closed the final 10 just 3-of-17, including a 7:02 scoreless drought that allowed the Bears (9-10, 4-2 SLC) to build a 24-19 advantage.

Nicholls quickly responded with three straight trifectas to grab its first lead of the game at 28-24, but UCA finished the final 3:34 of the opening half on a 6-0 run.

The second half consisted of six lead changes. Trailing 35-30, the Colonels tallied eight straight, capped by a layup from senior Daniel Regis to put the Red and Gray ahead 38-35. Following a trey from junior Elvis Harvey that increased the lead to four at 43-39, the Bears jumped back on top with another 6-0 run.

Graduate transfer Jeremiah Jefferson and Peppers nailed back-to-back long balls to see Nicholls regain a 49-45 advantage. Down by six later in the half, Harvey buried back-to-back three-point buckets to tie the game at 63 with 3:41 left.

The two sides then traded two-pointers but the Colonels' final four possessions came up empty with two misses and two turnovers as UCA sealed the win by draining its final three field goal attempts and last two free throws.

Jefferson and Harvey followed suit as double-figure scorers with 14 and 12, respectively. Sophomore Kevin Johnson dished out a career-high nine assists.

The Bears received a team-high 20 points from Hayden Koval. The home team pulled out the win despite making just 4-of-20 3-pointers.

Nicholls concludes its three-game road swing at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Wednesday. Tipoff at the American Bank Center is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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.