THIBODAUX, La. - With Mardi Gras in full swing in South Louisiana, the Nicholls State University men's basketball team put on its own parade in front of its home crowd Thursday night as the Colonels won in dominating fashion against New Orleans with an 84-59 victory on Broussard Court at Stopher Gymnasium.
With the win, Nicholls improved to 12-11 and 7-4 in the Southland. The Colonels also remained unbeaten at home with an 8-0 mark the season. Three of the four conference wins have been by double figures and the other was a nine-point victory. After a 3-2 start in conference, New Orleans (6-17, 3-9) has dropped eight in a row.
Ranking among the nation's leaders in turnovers forced most of the season, Nicholls took advantage of 26 Privateer turnovers by turning them into 35 points. Several of the points were via breakaway dunks and layups in transition which resulted in a 67 percent clip on shots inside the 3-point line for the game. The lone blemish on the night was a 6 of 24 showing from behind the arc. The Colonels had another great outing at the free throw line by knocking down 14 of 18.
After combining for 18 points last game in the win at HCU, the Colonel scoring duo of
Latrell Jones and
Caleb Huffman teamed up for 38. Jones tallied his sixth 20-point effort of the season with 21 and Huffman scored 17 on 8 of 9 from the field to go along with three steals. Although
Pierce Spencer and
Edoardo Del Cadia were a point shy of double figures with nine each, both recorded four steals as Nicholls finished with 15.
Despite the struggles from long range, Jones set the tone early with back-to-back triples for an 8-2 advantage. Although Nicholls got off to a fast start, they did not push the lead to double figures until the eight-minute mark when Huffman found Del Cadia for a layup. It was one of a team-high five assists for Huffman, who also led the Red and Gray with eight boards.
The bucket by Del Cadia was just a warmup for the native of Italy as he followed with two thunderous dunks. He had a steal and slam for a 29-16 lead and two minutes later, was fouled on a big jam that resulted in a three-point play. The Colonels used that momentum for a 44-30 lead at the break.
The second half was much of the same as Nicholls pushed its lead to 20 midway through the period. The Colonels went on to claim their largest margin of victory against UNO since the Privateers joined the conference in 2013.
Not only did Nicholls force a season-high 26 turnovers, but UNO's .349 shooting percentage was the lowest by a Division I opponent this season. The Privateers tried to keep close in the game by taking care of business at the free throw line where they made 27 of 33.
Tyson Jackson (13) and K'mani Doughty (10) each scoed in double figures for UNO.
UP NEXT
Nicholls will take on Southeastern Saturday in Hammond. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
