THIBODAUX, La. -- Bolstered by a complete team effort throughout, the Nicholls State University men's basketball program (17-9, 11-4 Southland) dominated rival Southeastern Louisiana (6-20, 3-12 Southland) in Saturday afternoon's conclusion of a three-game homestand, ousting the visiting Lions by a final 81-71 mark as the Red & Gray secured their third-consecutive conference series sweep of the season.

The Colonels would only trail twice during the contest, as the team surged to a lead they would never surrender with 17:38 remaining in the first half after initially falling behind both times in the game's opening minute-and-a-half. On the scoreboard, the Red & Gray grew that advantage as large as 18 and allowed Southeastern Louisiana back within five on one occasion, wrapping up the contest with a solid 10-point victory.

KEY STORYLINES & STATISTICS
-- For the game, Nicholls finished shooting a perfectly-even 50.0 percent (30-of-60) overall, 38.1 percent (8-of-21) from downtown and 86.7 percent (13-of-15) at the free throw line.
-- With the win, the Colonels complete the team's third-straight series sweep of the year after cruising past Sam Houston State and Lamar over the past week-and-a-half.
-- Less than a week after posting their worst free throw performance of the 2019-20 campaign (25 percent, 1-of-4 vs. Lamar), the Colonels recovered exceptionally well in one of the year's best showings at the line, finishing 13-of-15 for the third-highest free throw percentage (86.7) this season.
-- The Red & Gray concluded the afternoon with four players grouped in double figures, including: sophomore Warith Alatishe (16 pts), junior Kevin Johnson (15 pts), redshirt senior Dexter McClanahan (13 pts) and redshirt junior Andre Jones (11 pts). Senior Brandon Moore Jr. contributed a solid nine points as well while sophomore Lorenzo McGhee put in eight of his own.
-- In a rare sight, Jones managed to set the tone for Nicholls on the glass, pulling down a team-high seven boards while usual rebounding specialist Alatishe grabbed six on the day. Jones also paced the squad in the steals department, swiping two from the Lions, and notched four assists as well.
-- Johnson impressed with yet-another strong showing as a game manager, dishing out a team-best five assists.

UP NEXT
With just a quarter of the the league slate remaining, the Red & Gray turn their attention to the team's final roadtrip of the regular season, initially traveling north for contests at Northwestern State (Feb. 19) and Central Arkansas (Feb. 22) before closing out the away schedule at HBU (Feb. 26).

STAY SOCIAL
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