THIBODAUX, La. – Leading at halftime in the annual River Bell Classic, the No. 18/17 Nicholls State University football team threw four interceptions in the second half, with two being returned for touchdowns, as the Colonels lost in a shootout to rival No. 23/19 Southeastern Louisiana, 52-45, on Saturday on Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium. 
 
Despite the turnovers, Nicholls (4-3, 3-3 SLC) had a chance to tie the game on the final possession. Trailing 52-38 with 3:26 to go, the Colonels quickly marched down the field and scored with 1:34 remaining. Following a failed onside kick, Nicholls forced a punt and took possession with 22 seconds on the clock. The Colonels moved to midfield before two Hail Mary attempts fell incomplete to end the game.
 
The setback was the first against the Lions (4-2, 4-2 SLC) since 2017 and evened the series back at 15-15. It was also just the second league home defeat for the Colonels since the start of the 2017 season. 
 
In the loss, the Red and Gray had record performances by running back Julien Gums and wide receiver Dai'Jean Dixon. Gums tied the program's single-game record with four rushing touchdowns – three which led Nicholls to a 24-17 advantage at the intermission. Dixon needed just two yards to surpass Mark Carrier for the program's all-time receiving record and finished with five receptions for 92 yards.  
 
Lindsey Scott Jr. led Nicholls with 90 yards rushing with one touchdown but struggled in the passing game, throwing for 261 yards on 19 of 38 and had the four picks. The first was on the opening drive of the third quarter and it was returned 35 yards for a touchdown by Ferlando Jordan. After Scott rushed in for a score later in the quarter, his second pick-6 made the score 38-30 Southeastern. 
 
Nicholls tied the game early in the fourth when Gums rushed into the end zone from four yards out and Scott hit K.J. Franklin for a 2-point conversion. But Southeastern answered with a big fourth-down conversion as Cole Kelley found a wide-open Marcus Cooper for a 45-yard touchdown. Kelley threw for 391 yards and four touchdowns to lead Southeastern.
 
Following another Colonel interception, Southeastern drove down to the 3 and the Nicholls defense looked like it had come up with a game-changing play. Kevin Moore III sacked Kelley to force a fumble, but the ball trickled away from a diving Colonel defender and the Lions recovered. On the next play, Kelley hit Nick Kovacs for a 20-yard score and a 52-38 advantage.
 
The Colonels' final scoring drive was highlighted by three receptions from Dixon. Tahj Smith then capped the drive with a 15-yard touchdown grab. 
 
But Reminiscent of the 2016 and '17 losses to the Lions, the Colonels' desperation heaves into the end zone in the final seconds came up empty.

Unlike in last week's loss at McNeese, the Colonels started slow as they fell behind 14-3. SLU had the game's first two touchdowns with a Nicholls field goal sandwich in between. But before the end of the opening quarter, Gums plowed through the defense for a 1-yard TD run. 
 
Gums then found the end zone two more times in the half as Nicholls took a 24-14 lead. SLU added a field goal before the break when the Colonel defense picked up a stop in the red zone. 
 
For the game, the teams were nearly even in total yards as SLU had a slim 499-477 advantage. The Lions did most of their damage through the air while Nicholls piled up 261 yards on the ground. Gums rushed for 67 yards and John Carrington III had 53 on nine carries. 
 
Moore led the defense with 12 tackles, Ty'Ree Evans had 10 and Pig Cage added nine. Juan Monjarres posted a solid day for the defensive line, totaling 1.5 sacks.