ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The Nicholls State University men's basketball team drained 15 three-pointers and held New Mexico to less than 40 percent from the field, but too many turnovers led to points for the Lobos as the Colonels fell in their season opener, 91-84, Monday night at The Pit.

Nicholls (0-1) only led briefly in the first half and trailed 48-43 at the break before an early 9-0 run by New Mexico (1-0) in the second gave the Lobos some breathing room. The lead never surpassed 12 points and a late Colonel run cut it to four, but the rally came up short as the Lobos improved to 3-0 all-time in the series.

Despite the hot shooting from long range and solid defense, Nicholls had nine more turnovers in the loss which aided a 23-6 Lobo advantage in points off of turnovers. New Mexico also made 22 of 32 free throws while Nicholls connected on only 9 of 16. 

Robert Brown III continued where he left off last season, torching the nets for 23 points on 6 of 12 from behind the arc. Ike Cornish added 14 points in his Colonel debut while Michael Gray Jr. had 13 and Jamal West Jr. scored 10. West blocked three shots and was a rebound shy of a double-double.

Three Lobos tallied double-doubles in the win, led by Nelly Junior Joseph with 28 points and 13 boards. Mustapha Amzil had 13 and 13 while Donovan Dent totaled 15 points and 11 assists.

Midway through the opening period, the Colonels got a spark from Gray off the bench after he scored eight of their 10 points to grab a 23-20 advantage. But a 6-0 run put New Mexico back in front for the rest of the half.

In the second period, Trae English, who had eight assists, canned a three-pointer that made it a one-point game, but New Mexico answered with nine straight points for its first double-digit lead of the night. Joseph capped the run with a dunk, forcing Nicholls to call a timeout as they fell behind 59-49.

The Colonels came within four twice the rest of the way but New Mexico answered both times. Cornish made two free throws with nine minutes remaining before the Lobos hit two rare three-pointers to fuel an 8-0 spurt. New Mexico made just 7 of 36 from behind the arc.

Then with a minute to go after a West basket-and-one, Nicholls nearly picked up a steal on the inbounds but was called for a foul. New Mexico went on to add three free throws to make the final.

Nicholls shot 42 percent overall and 40.5 percent from three. They also battled on the boards as New Mexico had only a 50-49 rebounding advantage.

UP NEXT
Nicholls returns home for the next two games, starting with the opener against South Alabama at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 8.