MOBILE, Ala. - The Nicholls State University men's basketball team flipped the script on South Alabama as the Colonels were the ones that trailed by double figures before storming back for a 102-97 victory in triple overtime on Thursday night at the Mitchell Center.
Nicholls (2-2) enjoyed double-figure leads in its first three games but had to battle back from a 17-point deficit to knock off South Alabama for the first time ever in five meetings.
Jamal West Jr., who scored a a team-high 31 points, sent the game into overtime after taking the ball the distance off a rebound and finishing with a layup. In the second overtime,
Robert Brown III had a late three-pointer to force another extra period, then he canned two deep triples in the final OT to lead Nicholls to the victory.
West shot 8 of 14 from the field for the night and 15 of 22 at the free throw line. He also added seven rebounds, six assists and four blocks.
Diante Smith and Brown scored 19 each, and Smith finished with a double-double with 10 rebounds to go along with six steals.
Jalen White also scored in double figures with 17 points on 5 of 8 from three-point range and
Micah Thomas chipped in with 10 points and four assists.
A sluggish first half saw Nicholls go into the locker room down 40-28. The Colonels made only 10 of 28 from the field while USA shot nearly 50 percent.
South Alabama extended the advantage to its largest of the night when Marcus Millender drained a three-pointer for a 48-31 lead three minutes into the second half. But the Colonels gradually trimmed the deficit to 10 points midway through the period.
Trailing 55-45, a dunk by Smith started a 9-1 run by the Colonels. White ended the run with a three-pointer that made it a one-possession game. However, Nicholls never took the lead or tied the game until the final seconds of regulation.
USA went up six with 40 seconds remaining before West scored on a dunk. The defense then came through as White picked up a steal and a bucket. The Jaguars misfired on the ensuing possession, setting up West's game-tying layup.
In the first overtime, South Alabama fell behind by as much as seven before rallying to take the lead. Tyrell Jones sank two free throws with 1.2 seconds remaining for a one-point lead, but West was fouled on a long inbounds pass and converted the second free throw to force another OT.
After Brown's first three of the night made way for the final overtime, he caught fire by nailing two long range three-pointers in the early going. Nicholls went on to make nine free throws to escape with Coach
Tevon Saddler's second career win.
UP NEXT
Nicholls will wrap up the Jaguar Classic against SIUE on Friday night. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m.
