ABILENE, Texas -- The Nicholls State University men's basketball program (7-6, 1-1 Southland) was unable to maintain offensive pace with a hot-shooting Abilene Christian (7-5, 2-0 Southland) in Saturday night's conference road opener, falling by a final 79-61 mark to the Wildcats at Moody Coliseum in Abilene, Texas.

The Colonels kicked off the second half with an impressive 14-4 run, lowering the deficit as close as seven before an Elvis Harvey Jr. technical threw off the Red & Gray rhythm; the ensuing ACU free throws ignited an 11-0 run by the Wildcats that helped push the game out of the reach.

KEY STORYLINES & STATISTICS
-- For the game, Nicholls finished shooting 34.6 percent (18-of-52) from the field, 16.7 percent (3-of-18) from beyond the arc and 73.3 percent (22-of-30) at the charity stripe.
-- Abilene Christian, meanwhile, posted the team's best overall shooting percentage of the season, finishing the contest 54.5 percent on 30-of-55 from the floor.
-- Individually, only Harvey Jr. (15 points) and sophomore Lorenzo McGhee (11) broke the double-digit plateau, as the former brought down five boards while the latter led the squad behind three steals.
-- Junior Kevin Johnson made a return to the hardwood after missing the past two games due to injury, dropping nine points with two assists across 32 minutes of action.
-- Despite a close rebounding margin (collected 33 to ACU's 34), the Red & Gray continued to work the offensive glass with notable effectiveness, grabbing 13 on the night and notching 14 second chance points from those boards.

UP NEXT
With the 2019 finale against Abilene Christian wrapped up, the Colonels return to Louisiana for a much-deserved holiday break, taking an 11-day hiatus from competition before hosting UIW on Thursday, Jan. 2 back at Stopher Gym.

STAY SOCIAL
For more information on Colonels Men's Basketball, follow the team on Twitter (@Nicholls_MBB), Instagram (@geauxcolonels) and like their Facebook page (Nicholls Athletics).