BATON ROUGE, La. - Jalen White's three-pointer with 1.2 seconds remaining lifted the Nicholls State University men's basketball team to a 68-66 victory at LSU on Friday night in the
Maravich Center.
Nicholls (1-1) led by as much as 24 points in the first half before LSU (1-1) roared back to take the lead with six minutes remaining. But clutch free throw shooting, a pair of buckets by
Diante Smith and a stout zone defense kept the Colonels within striking distance. Down 66-65 with 46 seconds to go, Nicholls got the stop it needed before
Jamal West Jr. found White outside the arc for the game-winner.
LSU was able to get a good look after a full-court pass but the ball ricocheted off the iron as time expired.
The victory was the first for
Tevon Saddler, who is the youngest Division I coach at 28 years old. The win was also just the second in the all-time series against LSU in 21 meetings. Nicholls last won at LSU in 2010.
White scored a career-high 17 points and led the charge in the opening half, draining four three-pointers. As a team, Nicholls made 9 of 17 from long range with Smith and
Michael Gray Jr. draining two each, and West adding one. Smith scored 11 of his team-high 18 points before the break.
Nicholls led 11-0 to start the game behind three of White's triples. The advantage swelled to 21 midway through the period after Gray came off the bench for a 3-ball.
The largest lead came at 44-20 with two minutes remaining. West connected on a pair of free throws and the Colonels were near perfect from the stripe on the night, making 14 of 15.
Nicholls went into the break with a 44-25 advantage. The zone held LSU to just 26 percent from the field and 1 of 11 from three-point range.
But it was a different story in the second half. LSU opened the period with a 16-3 run to pull within single digits and shrunk the deficit to four midway through the half. Nicholls answered with a bucket by White and a Smith three-pointer to go back up nine.
The Tigers then pieced together a 13-0 spurt, taking the lead on a Jalen Reed free throw at 58-57 with less than six minutes remaining. Nicholls had the lead just one more time down the stretch before White's 3-pointer sealed the victory.
Four Colonels scored in double figures with West (14 points) and
Robert Brown III (11) joining Smith and White. West and White had six boards each as Nicholls held a slim 32-31 edge on in rebounding.
Reed paced LSU with 14 points and Jordan Wright added 11.
UP NEXT
Nicholls will head to Mobile, Alabama to take part in the Jaguar Classic. Wednesday's opener against Denver is scheduled for 6 p.m.
