LAKE CHARLES, La. - The Nicholls State University men's basketball team begins its quest for a tournament title as the Colonels take on No. 7 Texas A&M-Commerce in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Southland Conference Tournament Monday night at the Legacy Center in Lake Charles, Louisiana. 

Tipoff is scheduled for 7:35 p.m. and the game will air on ESPN+ and ESPN Radio New Orleans 100.3 FM. 

In head coach Tevon Saddler's debut campaign, Nicholls (18-13) wrapped up the regular season with a 13-5 league mark to secure third place and a first-round bye. The Colonels lost over 80 percent of their offense from a year ago but Saddler was able to bring in some dynamic scorers to keep the program heading in the right direction. 

Two newcomers - Diante Smith and Jamal West Jr., were recently honored by the Southland Conference as both earned all-league. Smith landed on first-team after averaging 15.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.0 steals. West was picked as a member of the second team, totaling 14.1 points per game with 7.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks. 

Also averaging double figures in their first season are Robert Brown III and Byron Ireland. Brown emerged as the league's top three-point shooter, averaging 3.3 per game at a league-best 46.4 percent. He ranked fourth in the SLC in scoring at 16.7 ppg, just ahead of Smith's 16.2 average in conference play. Ireland turned in 11.6 points per game to go along with 4.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists. 

Texas A&M-Commerce (13-19) stayed alive in the postseason with a 69-64 win over No. 6 Northwestern State. The winner of Commerce and Nicholls will advance to play the No. 2-seeded Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders. The other side of the bracket features No. 8 New Orleans, No. 4 Lamar and No. 1 McNeese. 

Nicholls took both matchups against the Lions this season but needed double overtime to snatch a victory on the road. Smith scored a career-high 29 points in the OT victory thanks to some clutch three-point shooting down the stretch.  The Colonels then completed the regular season sweep with an 85-70 win on Senior Day. 

The Colonels will be making their second all-time appearance as a No. 3 seed in the SLC Tournament. Nicholls opened the 1994 tournament with a win over No. 6 UTSA before falling to No. 2 Texas State. Nicholls earned the No. 3 seed in 2020 but never stepped on the floor after the postseason was canceled.