HOUSTON, Texas - After trailing by as much as 15 points in the second half, the Nicholls State University men's basketball team stormed back to force overtime on a last-second three-pointer by
Diante Smith and the Colonels went to claim a 98-94 victory over HCU in their Southland Conference opener on Saturday afternoon in Sharp Gymnasium.
Nicholls erased the deficit with seven minutes remaining before HCU scored eight straight points to lead 79-71. The Colonels made another comeback and Smith's bucket with six seconds to go knotted the game at 84. In the extra period, he hit another three-pointer to start the scoring and Nicholls never trailed in the extra period but fought off two ties with the last coming at 92-all. The Colonels went 6-for-6 at the free throw line in the final minute to extend their winning streak to nine games in the series against HCU.
With the victory, first-year head coach
Tevon Saddler secured his first league win while the Colonels improved to 6-8 on the season. HCU, which played one of the toughest nonconference schedules in the country, fell to 2-10 overall and 0-1.
Smith and
Jamal West Jr. paced the Colonel offense with 23 points each.
Robert Brown III added 16 points and
Byron Ireland scored 13, helped by an 8-for-8 effort at the free throw line. West finished with a double-double by collecting 10 rebounds before fouling out, and Smith filled the stat sheet with eight boards, seven assists and three steals.
Nicholls was ice cold from behind the arc in the first half, making 2 of 17 from three-point range as they trailed 42-37 at the break. But in the second half, Smith and Brown combined to sink 5 of 7 to help fuel the comeback.
The Huskies saw their largest lead of the day when Tristen Moore canned a triple for a 58-43 advantage with 14 minutes remaining. But Brown answered from distance and then West took over, scoring eight points which included two basket-and-ones.
The Colonels continue to chip away at the deficit, getting another three by Brown and two more from Smith. A Smith steal then led to a basket inside by
Mekhi Collins which tied the game at 71.
After HCU scored the next eight points, Nicholls found itself down four with 30 seconds remaining following a pair of Husky free throws. Smith quickly scored and HCU converted on only one of two free throws. With the clock winding down and trailing by three, Smith stepped up and drained a long three-pointer to tie the game with six seconds on the clock. HCU was not able to get a shot off before tie expired in regulation.
For the extra period, Nicholls made all seven free throw attempts and held HCU to 3 of 9 from the field. The win improved Nicholls' record to 2-0 in overtime games this season.
Collins came off the bench to add eight points on 4-for-4 from the field and two blocks.
Quinn Strander logged 17 minutes, all coming after halftime, totaling six points and four rebounds to help spark the second-half comeback.
For HCU, Bonke Maring and Jay Alvarez scored 22 each while Marcus Greene added 21.
Nicholls finished at 46 percent from the field and made 26 of 32 at the charity stripe. HCU shot 50 percent from the game but struggled at the line at 63 percent (24-38).
UP NEXT
Nicholls will look to start league play 2-0 as they host rival Southeastern on Monday, Jan. 8. Tipoff in Stopher Gymnasium is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
