HAMMOND, La. - Leading by as much as 21 points in the second half and by 12 with five minutes remaining, the Nicholls State University men's basketball team suffered a heartbreaking loss at Southeastern as the Lions stormed back to win, 83-81, Saturday evening at the University Center.

After Southeastern outscored Nicholls 13-1 in the final minutes to tie the game at 79, the Colonels regained the lead with a bucket by Ryghe Lyons with 90 seconds remaining. SLU (17-13, 9-4 SLC) countered with a basket to tie it back up and then got a defensive stop. With the clock winding down, Keon Clergeot missed a 3-pointer but Ryan Burkhardt collected the rebound and scored a layup before time expired.

With the loss, Nicholls (19-10, 9-3 SLC) saw its eight-game winning streak come to an end and remained in a first-place tie with New Orleans. The two teams will square off in the season finale next Saturday in Thibodaux and the game will air on ESPN+. 

Despite the loss, guard Ty Gordon turned in a second straight game of 30 or more points, finishing with a career-high 33. Gordon scored 30 in Thursday's win at Northwestern State and followed with a 14-of-26 shooting effort to go along with five assists and three steals. Manny Littles had a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. 

Gordon scored 26 points in the first half as Nicholls led 48-34 at the break. With the Colonels holding a 19-16 advantage, Gordon hit two of his three 3-pointers in the game to fuel his own 10-0 run over a span of two minutes. 

Nicholls saw its largest lead at 58-37 early in the second half on a Gordon jumper. It wasn't until midway through the half that Southeastern was able to come within single digits, but the Colonels answered with the next five points to lead 78-66. 

SLU's late push was led by Gus Okafor who made a pair of 3-pointers. After Gordon made 1 of 2 at the line, Okafor sank a jumper to even the score at 79 with 1:52 to go. He matched Littles' double-double with 17 and 12. 

Nicholls shot 50 percent for the game but struggled from long range, making 7 of 26 3-pointers. Latrell Jones had one of the triples and finished with 11 points. Lyons also scored in double figures with 10. 

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Nicholls heads to Texas for a third matchup against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Wednesday, March 2. The Colonels won both prior meetings, including an overtime victory at home on Feb. 12.