THIBODAUX, La. - The Nicholls State University men's basketball team will look to continue its strong play at home as the Colonels take on in-state rivals Northwestern State and Southeastern on Broussard Court at Stopher Gymnasium.

Nicholls (10-8, 0-1 SLC) will face Northwestern State (4-14, 0-1 SLC) Thursday night at 7 p.m. following the women's game, and cap the women's/men's ESPN+ doubleheader against Southeastern (9-9, 1-0 SLC) on Saturday at 3 p.m.

The Colonels went 5-0 at home in the nonconference with their last win coming on Dec. 18 against Mississippi Valley by the score of 104-73. The Delta Devils were the lone D1 opponent to come to Stopher Gymnasium but it did not keep Nicholls from notching its second highest scoring output of the season.

Nicholls won the first two games of the Southland Tip-Off Event to start 2022, but have since lost two straight. A loss in the title game against Southeastern was followed by a 78-66 setback in the league opener last Saturday at New Orleans. 

The Colonels feature a trio of players averaging double figures, led by one of the nation's top scorer - Ty Gordon (20.3 ppg). Gordon missed all three games of the Southland Tip-Off with an injury, but returned to play 30 minutes at UNO. He finished with 11 points while sophomore Pierce Spencer (8.8 ppg) turned in a career-high 25 points. Rounding out the leading scorers for Nicholls are Devante Carter (11.7 ppg) and Latrell Jones (10.5). 

Nicholls has turned the tide in the all-time series against NSU, winning eight of the last nine which includes a current four-game winning streak. The lone loss was on a buzzer beat at home in the 2019-20 campaign. Prior to the recent success, the Demons had won nine in a row. 

Northwestern State also fell in its league opener, letting a late lead slip away against Southeastern. The Demons received a strong showing by center Larry Owens (7.2 ppg) in the loss, scoring 21 points on 9 of 12 from the field.

Kendal Coleman has been one of the top scorers in the Southland, ranking fourth at 15.2 points per game. He has had three 20-point efforts this season with the last coming in their finale of the Tip-Off Event against New Orleans. 

Southeastern takes on New Orleans Thursday before making the short trip to Thibodaux. SLU is the hottest team in the league, carrying a five-game winning streak to the Lakefront. 

The Lions rallied to take down NSU last Saturday, helped by Gus Okafor's 11 consecutive points for SLU to complete the comeback. Okafor leads the Lions in scoring at 14.1 points per game.

Nicholls had won five in a row against SLU before the Lions claimed the Tip-Off Event title with a 77-72 victory. 

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