THIBODAUX, La. - For the second game in a row, the Nicholls State University men's basketball team rallied back from a double-digit second-half deficit as the Colonels defeated Lamar University, 64-60, in their regular season finale Wednesday night on Broussard Court at Stopher Gymnasium.
With the win, Nicholls (16-14, 11-7 SLC) secured a winning record for the fourth straight season and also locked up the No. 4 seed in next week's Southland Conference Tournament. The Colonels earned a first-round bye and will open tournament play on Monday at 5 p.m.
Nicholls trailed by 12 last Saturday in the win over HCU and found themselves down 15 at the 17-minute mark against Lamar. But a 17-2 run over the next seven minutes put the Colonels in position for another comeback victory. With the score knotted at 47, the teams played tight with three lead changes and two ties before Nicholls grabbed the lead for good at 56-55 on a
Latrell Jones layup from
Lance-Amir Paul.
Paul then delivered another assist, this time finding
Ryan Maxwell for a bucket in the paint and a 62-58 advantage with just under two minutes to go. After Lamar scored, Paul misfired on a 3-pointer but
Caleb Huffman came through with a big offensive rebound. The extra possession led to a pair of Maxwell free throws with seven seconds remaining to close out the comeback victory.
Jones scored a team-high 20 points while
Micah Thomas came off the bench for 11 points and Huffman added 10. Jones and Thomas were big in the first half, totaling 18 of the Colonels' 26 points as they trailed by 14 at the intermission. Thomas and Paul each finished with five assists.
Nicholls made just 34 percent from the field but had 20 offensive rebounds for a 21-13 advantage in second chance points. Lamar shot 37 percent for the game despite having only six field goals in the second half.
Nate Calmese scored 19 points for Lamar and Jason Thirdkill, Jr. added 12. Lamar (9-22, 5-13 SLC) needed to leave Thibodaux with a victory in order to reach the SLC Tournament.
UP NEXT
Nicholls will take part in the Southland Conference Tournament in Lake Charles, hosted by McNeese at the Legacy Center. Nicholls will play the winner of Sunday's first-round matchup between No. 8 McNeese and No. 5 Texas A&M-Commerce. Monday's opening game is set for a 5 p.m. tipoff. Tickets can be purchased
here.
