NEW ORLEANS, La. -- Powered by yet-another strong performance from Elvis Harvey Jr., the Nicholls State University men's basketball program (14-7, 8-2 Southland) fought past a resilient New Orleans (6-14, 2-8 Southland) squad early Saturday evening, knocking off the Privateers by a 77-72 margin at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, La. Notably, the victory sets the Colonels up at an 8-2 league record, good for a tie as the program's third-best start in conference play since joining the Southland in 1991.

Harvey Jr. racked up his second 20-point showing of the past three games, pacing the Red & Gray behind 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor, not to mention four clutch free throws across the final 15 seconds to ice the contest. Additionally, sophomore Warith Alatishe continued to impress down low, racking up 13 points along with a team-best eight boards and two ferocious blocks, while redshirt junior Andre Jones and junior Kevin Johnson wrapped up the double-figure scorers for Nicholls, notching 12 and 10 points, respectively.

KEY STORYLINES & STATISTICS
-- For the game, Nicholls finished shooting a season-high 58.2 percent (32-of-55) from the field, 33.3 percent (4-of-12) at the three-point line and 75.0 percent (9-of-12) from the charity stripe.
-- After entering halftime up 10, the Colonels watched their lead at the break evaporate over the opening 11 minutes of the second period, falling behind at the 8:32 mark for the first time since early in the contest. The Privateers proceeded to push that advantage as large as five points (6:46 remaining) before an 11-1 Red & Gray run secured an edge they would never surrender.
-- Redshirt senior Dexter McClanahan concluded his night with eight points and four rebounds, but managed to make a major defensive impact, swiping four of the team's seven steals and posting a pair of blocks.

UP NEXT
The Colonels remain on the road as they look west towards the opposite end of the state, traveling to Lake Charles, La. on Wednesday, Jan. 29 for a major Southland battle at McNeese.

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).