LAKE CHARLES, La. - The No. 4 seed Nicholls State University men's basketball team received a pair of 20-point performance by its all-league duo of
Caleb Huffman and
Latrell Jones, but the Colonels were held without a field goal in the final three minutes against host McNeese as the No.8 Cowboys advanced in the Southland Conference Tournament with a 77-71 victory Monday evening at the Legacy Center.
For the third straight game, Nicholls had to rally from a halftime deficit. Unlike the previous two contests, the margin was just single digits at nine points. The Colonels took the lead midway through the final period and again with 90 seconds to go after a pair of Jones free throws.
McNeese answered with a huge basket-and-one by Harwin Francois for a 72-70 advantage and Nicholls followed with a missed 3-point attempt by Huffman. The Cowboys scored again inside for a four-point lead and after the teams traded a single free throw, a turnover on the inbounds for the Colonels ultimately put to rest any chance of a comeback.
Nicholls finishes the season at 16-15 overall. It marks the third consecutive winning campaign for the program, a first since the Colonels finished over .500 three straight times from 1992-1995.
The loss snapped a seven-game winning streak in the all-time series for the Colonels and was also the team's third consecutive loss in the postseason.
Jones scored 25 points on 8 of 12 from the field and was 3 of 5 from 3-point range in his Colonel finale. Huffman got going in the second half, netting 18 of his 22 points. He shot 10 of 17 overall but could not find his stroke from deep, making 1 of 6 3-pointers.
In the game, both squads shot over 50 percent from the field but McNeese had a significant 41-19 advantage on the boards. That led to a 14-3 margin for the Cowboys in second chance points.
The game was predictably tight in the early going, with Nicholls holding a four-point lead at 15-11 with 12:49 to play in the half. The Cowboys then flipped that to a six-point lead in their favor with a 12-2 surge over the next four minutes to make it 23-17.
The Colonels fought back to make it a one-point contest with five minutes to play in the half, but McNeese once again surged, closing on a 12-4 run to make it a 41-32 lead at halftime.
After the break, Huffman put the advantage back in the Colonels' hands. Down 7, the Broken Arrow, Oklahoma native scored nine of the Colonels' 10 straight points to take a 59-56 lead with 8:42 left in the game.
It stayed within one possession until the final minute of the game. McNeese closed it out on a 9-4 rally, punching their ticket to Tuesday's semifinal round.
Christian Shumate had a big day inside for the Cowboys, finishing with 22 points and 14 rebounds. Zach Scott also scored 22 for McNeese.
