LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Manny Littles scored inside with 1.9 seconds left for the game-winning basket as the Nicholls State University men's basketball team outlasted San Diego, 72-70, Saturday evening in the final day of the Las Vegas Holiday Classic at Orleans Arena.
In a game that featured 13 lead changes and 10 ties, Nicholls (2-4) came away with several clutch plays down the stretch to earn the win. Trailing by three with less than two minutes remaining,
Lance-Amir Paul drained a 3-pointer to tie the score at 66.
Latrell Jones had two big free throws for a short-lived lead then
Micah Thomas sank a pull-up jumper for a 70-68 edge with 34 seconds to go. After San Diego (4-3) tied it up, Paul dished off a perfect pass inside to Littles for the game-winner. With less than two seconds remaining, the Toreros were unable to get off a shot before the final buzzer sounded.
Nicholls shot 56.5 percent for the game, helped by a staggering 68 percent in the first half. Jones led a trio of Colonels in double figures, finishing with a career-high 26 points which included 8 of 13 from the field and 4 of 8 from 3-point range. Jones and
Caleb Huffman each scored 10 points in the first half as Nicholls led 42-37 at the break. Huffman added two more points after the intermission and Thomas finished with 10.
The Colonels led for the majority of the first half but could never push the deficit to more than five points. San Diego took the lead at 30-29 with less than five minutes remaining in the half, but Nicholls used a pair of 3-pointers by
Tyrease Terrell to regain the advantage. Leading by three,
Caleb Huffman ended the half with an emphatic dunk off a Torero turnover. USD finished with 13 turnovers which resulted in just five steals for the Colonels, but Nicholls turned the miscues into a 24-14 advantage in points off turnovers.
Nicholls saw its largest lead early in the second half at 47-40 after a pair of buckets by Jones. Jase Townsend hit a 3-pointer for USD on the opening possession but the Colonels countered with the four points by Jones and a Paul free throw.
After Jones made a 3-pointer for a 50-46 Colonel lead, the Toreros went on a 14-4 run over the next six minutes to go up 60-54. However, Jones scored the game's next seven points with four free throws and a 3-ball for the one-point edge.
In the final four minutes, there were six lead changes and three ties before Nicholls claimed its first win over the Toreros in the second all-time meeting.
Townsend led USD with 20 points while Eric Williams Jr. had a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards. Nicholls limited San Diego to 39 percent from the field and 4 of 21 from 3-point range.
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Nicholls returns to Louisiana to host Champion Christian at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 29.
