STILLWATER, Okla. - Sophomore
Jalik Dunkley finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds and
Sincere Malone added 18 points but the Nicholls State University men's basketball team fell short at Oklahoma State in a 95-81 loss on Saturday afternoon.
Nicholls slipped to 0-5 on the season, all road games, while OSU improved to 6-0. It was the second meeting between the schools with the first coming in 2010.
Dunkley shot 9 of 12 from the field and had a couple of highlight dunks en route to his first double-double as a Colonel. He played all 40 minutes and added two assists and a block.
Malone filled the stat sheet as well with five assists and four steals to go along with his 18 points.
Trae English and
Zaiden Cross came off the bench for 13 points each.
Nicholls shot 44 percent from the field to reach a new season-high in points for the second straight outing. The Colonels sank 10 three-pointers but needed 37 attempts. Oklahoma State shot 53 percent and was nearly perfect at the free throw line, making 25 of 27.
The Cowboys never trailed in the game after draining a three-pointer to start the scoring. OSU built a 16-7 lead after five minutes before Nicholls cut it to 20-19 midway through the half. Cross started the run for the Colonels with a three-ball and
Jalin Rice added two buckets.
But the Cowboys answered with back-to-back three-pointers and it led to a 27-13 advantage for the rest of the half.
In the second half, OSU kept the margin around 15 points until
Christian Winborne made a three from the corner, forcing a Cowboy timeout with the score 57-47. But again, OSU answered with back-to-back triples and never looked back.
Oklahoma State had four players in double figures, led by Jaylen Curry who had 30 points and 10 assists. With the clock winding down, Curry threw up an unguarded three at the buzzer to become the first Cowboy in school history to have 30 points and 10 assists. It was the eighth three-pointer of the day as OSU shot 40 percent from behind the arc.
UP NEXT
Nicholls will play its sixth consecutive road game to start the season next Friday but will make its Louisiana debut with a trip to Tulane. Tipoff on Nov. 28 is scheduled for 2 p.m.