HOUSTON  – The Nicholls State University men's basketball team suffered an 88-82 setback at Houston Baptist University Saturday at Sharp Gym.

Graduate transfers Jeremiah Jefferson and Gavin Peppers led The Colonels (11-14, 4-8 SLC) with 22 points apiece. Junior Danny Garrick followed with 14. The Huskies (9-14, 5-7) received 16 points apiece from Ian DuBose and Benjamin Uloko.

Nicholls led by eight at halftime and as many as 11 with 11:56 to play, but HBU surged for a 19-2 run over 4:13 to take a 69-63 lead and held off the Colonels for the remaining 7:43. Following a jumper from junior Elvis Harvey to put Nicholls within two at the 3:25 mark, Nicholls connected on just one of its final seven shots while the Huskies made 7-of-11 free throws.

The Colonels drained 13 3-pointers while limiting HBU to four. The Huskies missed their first 11 long-range attempts. Nicholls was outrebounded 47-32 and HBU finished with a 38-12 advantage in free-throw attempts.

The Colonels battle Sam Houston State Wednesday on the road before closing the regular season with five consecutive home games.

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.