LAKE CHARLES, La. - Despite a strong effort on the defensive end, the Nicholls State University men's basketball team could not knock McNeese from the ranks of the unbeaten as the Colonels fell 80-71 Saturday afternoon in the Legacy Center.

Nicholls (9-7, 3-2 SLC) held McNeese to a season-low 37.5 percent from the field but could not keep the Cowboys (11-5, 5-0 SLC) off the glass. The defending champions corralled 23 offensive rebounds and that led to a 28-12 advantage in second-chance points.

The Colonels had three players score in double figures, paced by Robert Brown III's 16 points. Jamal West Jr. and Byron Ireland finished with 14 points apiece as Nicholls shot nearly identical to McNeese at 37.3 percent. Both defenses locked in behind the three-point line as the offenses combined to make just 7 of 33.

Two of Nicholls' four made triples came in the opening minutes when Brown and Michael Gray Jr. (8 points) connected from deep for a 10-3 lead. But McNeese gradually chipped away and went on top on their own three-ball by Javohn Garcia to go up 17-16 midway through the half.

The Cowboys then led by as much as eight before going into the break with a 39-33 lead. Brown scored 12 in the opening period for his seventh double-figure scoring effort of the season.

In the second half, Nicholls kept the deficit to single digits for most of the final 20 minutes but could never make it a one-possession game. Both teams took advantage of fouls with the Colonels making 16 of 18 from the stripe after the break while McNeese made 17 of 24.

Garcia led all scorers with 25 points, helped by a 12-for-13 day at the line. Joe Charles finished a point shy of a double-double with nine and 12 rebounds.

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Nicholls will conclude its six-game road swing on Monday at UIW. The Cardinals also fell on Saturday at HCU.