BEAUMONT, Texas - With the game tied at 17-all and less than four minutes remaining, No. 20/25 Lamar University got its second big play of the day with an 88-yard punt return for a touchdown as the Nicholls State University football team dropped a 24-17 decision Saturday evening at Provost Umphrey Stadium. 

Nicholls (1-5, 1-1 SLC) drove the ball to midfield on the ensuing possession but a scramble by Deuce Hogan on fourth down was a few yards short of keeping the drive alive. Lamar (4-1, 1-0 SLC) then picked up a first down and was able to run out the rest of the clock.

The loss was the fifth straight for the Colonels and first in league play. Lamar secured its fourth consecutive win on the year and took a 9-7 lead in the all-time series.

The Colonels outgained Lamar on offense, 348-337, but the two 80-yard plus touchdown plays were too much to overcome. On the first play of the game, Aiden McCown went deep down the sideline and connected with Blake Thomas for an 85-yard touchdown.

But Nicholls answered immediately, piecing together an 11-play, 88-yard touchdown drive. Shane Lee fueled the possession with a 30-yard carry and then Hogan finished it off with a quarterback sneak into the end zone.

Following a Lamar punt, Lee busted loose for a 75-yard touchdown for a 14-7 Colonel lead. The redshirt freshman notched his first 100-yard game with 109 yards on just three carries. 

Early in the second quarter, the Cardinals countered with a 3-yard keeper by McCown to tie the game at 14-14. Later in the period, LU moved inside the Colonel 5 but Nicholls kept them out of the end zone as the Cardinals added a field goal for a 17-14 advantage. Nicholls picked up an interception by Anthony Rogers to start its final drive on Lamar's side of the field, but the Colonels came up empty and went into the half down three.

After the break, the only scoring in the third quarter was a 45-yard field goal by Gabriel Showalter that tied the game for the Colonels. Freshman running back Kayden Andoh highlighted the drive with a 12-yard reception to put Nicholls in the red zone. But a sack pushed them back before Showalter delivered on his seventh field goal of the year.

In the fourth, neither team could get anything going on offense. After securing a first down, Nicholls looked to have picked up a 3rd-and-3 but the ball fell to the turf for an incompletion. Pharrell Harewood then boomed a 50-yard punt to Kyndon Fuselier who shook off a few defenders and raced 88 yards down the middle of the field for a touchdown. Fuselier also had a punt return for a TD in last season's matchup. 

Hogan finished 21 of 38 for 166 yards and the one rushing touchdown. Everett Hunter and Scrappy Osby both had four receptions while Amari Clayton had a high of 39 yards on three grabs. For the rushing attack, Nicholls totaled 175 yards with Miequle Brock Jr. rushing for 33 and Andoh added 31.

For the defense, Ty Marsh and Jake Dalmado both notched double-figure tackles while Rogers had his second interception of the season. 

Harewood punted seven times with a 44.0 yard average, helped by a pair of 50-plus yard punts. With Nicholls lined up at its own 5 in the fourth, Harewood flipped the field with a personal best 67-yarder.

Nicholls converted on 3 of 4 fourth-down conversions but still struggled on third downs by going 4 of 17. 

UP NEXT
Nicholls will be off next weekend before heading back to Texas to face Stephen F. Austin on Oct. 18.