THIBODAUX, La. - Latrell Jones notched his first double-double of the season and scored a game-high 23 points to lead four Colonels in double figures as the Nicholls State University men's basketball team claimed a 73-64 victory over McNeese Thursday night for 'Stuff Stopher' on Broussard Court at Stopher Gymnasium.
Nicholls (9-9, 4-2 SLC) used a barrage of 3-pointers to take an early double-digit lead and after McNeese climbed back for a 34-32 advantage at the half, the Colonels got hot again from long range. With six minutes remaining and nursing a two-point lead, the Red and Gray drained three straight 3-pointers to pull away for their sixth consecutive win over the Cowboys.
Jones had three 3-pointers on the night, joined by
Caleb Huffman (15 points) with three.
Pierce Spencer (14 points) canned 4 of 7 from behind the arc, including one from deep that provided the early 13-2 lead.
Marek Nelson also finished in double figures with 10 points.
The Colonels shot 40 percent from 3-point range (11-27) but cooled off after the energetic start. McNeese found its stroke from deep, tying the score at 28 on a Zach Scott triple and then took its first lead thanks to a 3-ball by Roberts Berze at 31-30.
Trailing by one early in the second half, Nicholls pieced together a 7-0 run to retake the lead. Jones had two baskets during the stretch and
Micah Thomas finished it off with a jumper inside.
The Cowboys quickly tied it up after a basket-and-one by Christian Shumate, but Jones countered with another 3-pointer with 12 minutes remaining. Nicholls never surrendered the lead the rest of the way, although McNeese made it a three-point game with three minutes to go. Nelson hit a free throw to push it back to four and missed the second, but Jones had a putback to double the Colonel lead back to six.
With the win, Nicholls moved into a first-place tie in the standings at 4-2 and remained perfect at home at 7-0. McNeese slipped to 5-14 overall and 2-4.
Scott led McNeese with 15 points and accounted for three of their seven 3-pointers. The Cowboys hit 29 percent from behind the arc and finished at 41 percent overall.
Nicholls tallied just five turnovers in the win, marking the third straight game with single digits in the category. The Colonels had only eight last game and four at Lamar.
UP NEXT
Nicholls will head to Lake Charles for a quick rematch against McNeese on Saturday, Jan. 21. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
