CHARLESTON, Ill. - After falling behind by 18 points in the second half, the Nicholls State University men's basketball team used a 15-0 run to come within a possession against Eastern Illinois but could not complete the comeback in a 65-57 loss Friday night.

Nicholls (0-2) had trouble scoring for most of the night but its defense helped lead the second-half surge. The Colonels turned up the pressure as EIU (1-1) turned the ball over six times while being held scoreless for a four-minute minute stretch. 

Zee Hamoda hit a pair of three-pointers to fuel the offense during the run and Jaylen Searles scored twice to bring the deficit to three with 6:30 remaining, but the Panthers never let the Colonels get any closer the rest of the way.

Searles led the way with 20 points, Trae English had 17 and Sincere Malone added 10 rebounds and six points. English scored five early points as Nicholls jumped out to a 9-1 lead, but the Colonels scored only seven points in the final 15 minutes of the half. EUI went into the break with a 25-16 advantage.

Jalik Dunkley scored for the Colonels five minutes in to make it 31-24, however, EIU pieced together an 11-0 run to grab its largest lead of the night. The Panthers made 21 free throws in the half to stay in front for their first win of the year.

Zion Fruster was the lone Panthers in double figures, finishing with a game-high 25 points.

Nicholls finished at 29 percent from the field and made 4 of 26 from three-point range. The defense held EIU to 37 percent overall and 5 of 18 from three.

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The Colonels will play their final game of the BBN United Tipoff Classic on Wednesday, Nov. 12 at Valparaiso.