THIBODAUX, La. - The Nicholls State University men's basketball team erased a second-half 17-point deficit to defeat New Orleans, 78-75, Monday night on Broussard Court at Stopher Gymnasium.
Nicholls (8-9, 3-1 SLC) trailed by 10 points at the half and fell behind 66-49 with 12 minutes remaining before making a furious comeback.
Robert Brown III gave Nicholls the lead with a thunderous dunk with two minutes to go, and after the teams traded three-pointers, he scored again which ended up being the final points of the game. The Privateers misfired on five shots in the final minute as Nicholls knocked off UNO for the fifth straight time at home.
Brown scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half, finishing 8 of 13 from the field.
Jamal West Jr. carried the Colonels for most of the night, totaling 23 points on 10 of 14 shooting while adding seven rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Jalen White also scored in double figures with 12 points and his three-pointer with 1:20 to go gave Nicholls the lead for good.
Despite having to battle back from a double-digit deficit, Nicholls came out hot and led 16-6 in the early going. But New Orleans eventually took the lead before the break and ended the half with a 15-2 run for a 42-32 advantage.
Nicholls pulled within five three minutes in the second half, however, the Privateers scored the next six points to push their lead back to double figures. The largest lead came at the 11:37 mark when Tyson Jackson scored inside for the 17-point advantage.
The momentum then began to swing in favor of the Colonels as they pieced together a 9-0 run. West accounted for five of the points, including two on a dunk.
Still down eight with six minutes to go, Nicholls ramped up the defensive pressure and it caused problems for the visitors. UNO had just five turnovers through 34 minutes of play but ended up with five more down the stretch.
Oumar Koureissi played a big role in the defensive effort as he totaled three blocks and a steal -- all in the second half. Nicholls limited UNO to just a free throw over the next few minutes as they took the lead with a 10-1 run. West pulled the Colonels within one before a block and a steal made way for Brown's highlight dunk to complete the comeback.
The excitement was short lived, however, as James Glisson III drilled a three-pointer for UNO for a 75-73 lead -- which was their first field goal since eight minutes remaining in the game. But Nicholls answered right away when White canned the go-ahead triple.
Jackson had a chance to tie or take the lead for UNO at the free throw line with a minute remaining, but missed both attempts. Brown followed with his bucket inside to make the final.
UNO had a rough night at the charity stripe, making just 10 of 23. Nicholls shot below its average at 65 percent, but made its last four. From the field, the Colonels made 53 percent despite a 5 of 19 effort from behind the arc.
Jackson led five Privateers in double figures with 18 points. Jordan Johnson, who was named SLC Player of the Week earlier in the day after averaging 38 points in the Privateers' two wins last week, finished with 14 points and five assists.
UP NEXT
The Colonels will head to Texas for their next three games, starting with a Saturday (Jan. 20) matchup at defending champion Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m
