KATY, Texas - Fifth-year senior
Ryghe Lyons led four players in double figures as the Nicholls State University men's basketball team used a red-hot first half to cruise to an 87-56 victory against UIW in the opening-round game of the Southland Tip-Off Event Thursday night at the Merrell Center.
With the victory, Nicholls (9-6) advanced to the winners bracket to take on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (12-3) Friday night at 7:30 p.m. The Islanders won their opener against Northwestern State, 89-67.
Lyons followed his 20-point performance against No. 3 Purdue with another outstanding effort inside, making 8 of 10 from the field while adding five rebounds and four assists.
Latrell Jones was nearly perfect in his 16-point night, going 6 of 6 from the field, 3 of 3 from 3-point range and added one free throw.
Caleb Huffman scored 15 points off the bench and after missing two games,
Devante Carter returned to score 11.
Playing without leader scorer
Ty Gordon, the Colonels did not miss a beat offensively as they scored 50 points in the first half on 60 percent shooting. The defense was just as impressive, limiting UIW to 5 of 31 from the field for 17 points. The Cardinals shot over 50 percent in the second half but only brought the deficit to fewer than 30 points once.
Nicholls set the tone right off the tip, scoring on 3s by Lyons and Jones which led to an 8-0 advantage. The Cardinals ended the early run but midway through the half, Lyons slammed one down for a 24-4 lead.
With five minutes to go until the intermission, a
Jalen White steal made way for a Jones dunk to put the Colonels up 36-9. UIW followed with a basket to finally crack double figures.
The Colonels continued to pour it on, ending the half with a basket-and-one by
Ryan Maxwell for the 50-17 lead.
Nicholls led by as much as 38 in the second half before going on to secure the win.
The Red and Gray finished the game shooting 58.1 percent from the field and 6 of 16 from 3-point range. Nicholls also had a great showing at the free throw line, making 9 of 12.
Pierce Spencer grabbed a team-high eight rebounds to go along with six points and six assists. Freshman
Mekhi Collins had eight points and six boards in his first career start.
UIW was led by RJ Glasper with a game-high 20 points. The Cardinals will take on Northwestern State Friday in the second round.
