HAMMOND, La. - Guard Caleb Huffman scored 22 of his career-high 31 points in the second half as the Nicholls State University men's basketball team swept the season series against Southeastern with an 88-77 victory Saturday afternoon at the University Center. 

The victory was third consecutive for Nicholls (13-11, 8-4 SLC) and second straight on the road. The Colonels will end the regular season with five of their final six at home. 

Huffman had nine points in a high-scoring first half that saw Southeastern (14-12, 8-5 SLC) go into the locker room with a 47-41 advantage. After the break, he drained a 3-pointer that tied the game at 57 but the Colonels did not take the lead until a 9-0 spurt at the eight-minute mark. Down 65-63, Huffman made back-to-back buckets for the lead and after Lance-Amir Paul scored for a four-point lead, Huffman ended the run with another 3-pointer.

SLU made it a one-possession game twice down the stretch, but the final time came when Roger McFarlane hit a pair of free throws to make it 79-76 with three minutes remaining. Nicholls answered on the next possession when Manny Littles found Paul open underneath, who was fouled on a layup and added the free throw. The Colonels then got a stop and Huffman drained another 3-ball to essentially put the game away. 

Huffman connected on 6 of 13 from behind the arc to set a new career high in made 3-pointers. Five came in the second half as he matched his previous career high of 31 points set earlier this season. 

Joining Huffman in double figures were Littles with 15 points and Paul added 11 off the bench. Littles, who matched his season-high in scoring which came in the earlier win over Southeastern, surpassed 1,000 points for his career. He played his first three seasons at North Alabama before joining the Colonels last year. 

Marek Nelson added eight points while Pierce Spencer finished with seven and Edoardo Del Cadia scored six. Del Cadia had another solid outing, collecting 10 rebounds and four steals in 25 minutes before fouling out.  

As a team, Nicholls totaled 13 steals with Huffman and Spencer adding three each. The Colonels had a 26-15 advantage in points off turnovers as SLU racked up 19 miscues. Nicholls had nine turnovers themselves in the first half but trimmed it to six after the break. 

McFarlane scored 22 points for the Lions with 18 coming in the first half. Boogie Anderson and Roscoe Eastmond added 12 points each while Brody Rowbury had a near perfect shooting performance with 14 points on 4 of 4 from the field and 6 of 7 at the line. 

Nicholls shot 48 percent in the victory and turned in another outstanding day at the free throw line, making 16 of 19. Littles and Paul were a perfect 5-for-5. 

UP NEXT
Nicholls will not leave Louisiana for the rest of its schedule, starting with a three-game home stretch. The Colonels will be looking to avenge an earlier road loss to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, hosting the Islanders on Thursday, Feb. 16. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.