THIBODAUX, La. - The Nicholls State University men's basketball team put together one of its highest offensive outputs of the season, but the visiting Southeastern Lions had an unfathomable performance from 3-point range by making 17 of 26 to hand the Colonels their first loss at home, 101-93, Saturday afternoon on Broussard Court in Stopher Gymnasium.
Nicholls (11-9, 1-2 SLC) used a 16-0 run early in the second half to take a 64-54 lead; however, SLU drained nine 3-pointers the rest of the way to complete the comeback. Two came shortly after
Latrell Jones slammed down an oop from
Ty Gordon that gave the Red and Gray a 78-75 lead with 7:23 to go. SLU's Keon Clergeot and Joe Kasperzyk each responded with one from deep to put the Lions ahead -- a lead they would not surrender.
The Colonels received another dunk from
Devante Carter down the stretch, but it was sandwiched between two more Lion 3-pointers. Carter's bucket cut the deficit to four before Gus Okafor all but put the game away with another triple with 1:46 remaining. SLU connected on eight free throws in the final minutes to secure its second straight win over Nicholls.
Nicholls had five players score in double figures, headed by
Pierce Spencer and
Ty Gordon with 18 points each. Carter added 15 points and five assists,
Manny Littles scored 14 and had seven rebounds, and
Latrell Jones chipped in with 11 points and two blocks.
The Colonels shot 51.3 percent from the field, but SLU (10-10, 2-1 SLC) finished at an impressive 63.3 percent. Ryan Burkhardt led the 3-point assault, scoring 21 points on 7 of 8 from behind the arc. Burkhardt had a similar performance earlier this month against Nicholls in Katy, Texas, scoring 18 of 6 of 8 3-pointers. Kasperzyk came off the bench for 19 points with three 3-pointers, and Okafor hit four from long range to finish with 17 points. Jayln Hinton flirted with a quadruple-double with 13 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and six blocks.
Nicholls led for most of the first half and by as much as 12 before a late Lion run. Gordon canned a 3-pointer for a 39-30 advantage with five minutes remaining and SLU answered with a 19-7 spurt to close out the period to lead 49-46.
Early in the second half, the Colonels faced a six-point deficit before piecing together their big run. Jones had a 3-pointer and a dunk to highlight the spurt, and Littles capped the 16-0 run with a slam. But the Colonels could not hang on to the lead, suffering their first loss at home this season.
UP NEXT
Nicholls will hit the road for the next three games, starting this Thursday (Jan. 27) at McNeese. Tipoff in Lake Charles is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
