WACO, Texas - An early second-half surge was not nearly enough for the Nicholls State University men's basketball team against No. 12 Baylor as the Bears handed the Colonels an 85-56 loss Wednesday night at the Ferrell Center.

Trailing 45-31 at the break, Nicholls used an 8-0 run in the opening minutes of the second half to pull within six. But Baylor countered with the next seven points and never looked back as they led by double figures the rest of the way. 

With the loss, Nicholls wrapped up its nonconference scheduled with an 6-7 overall record. The Bears (10-2) won their fifth game in a row and improved to 3-0 all-time against the Colonels.

Latrell Jones finished with 18 points and stuffed the stat sheet, adding six rebounds, four assists and a steal. Caleb Huffman also scored in double figures with 11 points while Lance-Amir Paul came off the bench for six points, two assists and two steals. 

Jones scored 12 in the first half as Nicholls trailed by 14. The teams shot around 44 percent from the field in the first period but the 3-point shooting was the biggest difference. The Colonels struggled to find their touch, making just 1 of 7, while Baylor drained 8 of 15. Nicholls made only one more 3-pointer in the second half, shooting its second lowest percentage of the season at 11.1 percent (2 of 18).

Despite the double-figure deficit, Nicholls fought to make a game of it coming out of the intermission with the early 8-0 spurt. Two of the buckets were courtesy of fast break layups before Manny Littles scored inside to make it 47-41. 

Baylor's decisive run was fueled by Adam Flagler who sank a 3-ball to end the mini drought and added another bucket that pushed the lead back to double figures. Flagler was one of two Bears to score at least 20 points, finishing one behind Keyonte George's game-high 21. 

UP NEXT
Nicholls will hit the road for its first three Southland Conference games of the New Year, starting next Thursday (Jan. 5) at Texas A&M-Commerce.
 

Lance. Amir. Paul.

And ☝️ pic.twitter.com/TsxU6nbJWK

— Nicholls Men's Basketball (@Nicholls_MBB) December 29, 2022

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