THIBODAUX, La. - Nicholls State University men's basketball raced out to a 22-2 lead over HCU and the Colonels never trailed in a 79-64 victory Wednesday night on Broussard Court at Stopher Gymnasium.
Nicholls (3-7, 2-0 SLC) forced nine turnovers in the opening eight minutes to fuel the fast start before HCU (5-7, 1-3 SLC) climbed back and trimmed the deficit to single digits at 31-22 with a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer. But the Colonels maintained at least a six-point edge the rest of the way for their 12th consecutive win in the all-time series against the Huskies.
Jalik Dunkley turned in an impressive performance on the offensive end with a game-high 23 points on 9 of 10 from the field.
Jaylen Searles led the three-point shooting effort by hitting 4 of 8 and totaled 18 points, and
Trae English chipped in with 14 points, four steals and three assists.
Searles and Dunkley were hot early as they combined for the first 11 points of the game. HCU's Trent Johnson scored on a putback to end the run, but Searles hit his second three of the night to spark another 11-0 run.
The Colonels got stuck on 24 points as the Huskies pieced together a 10-0 spurt.
Christian Winborne then found Dunkley for a slam and Nicholls stayed ahead by double figures until the late bucket by Ryan Bartley.
Despite having a comfortable lead most of the half, Nicholls struggled from the three-point line by hitting just 3 of 17 and did not attempt a single free throw. But after the break, Nicholls drained 6 of 12 from behind the arc while making 8 of 11 from the free throw line.
Zee Hamoda hit all three of his three-pointers after the intermission.
Both teams shot over 65 percent in the second half as they combined for 90 points.
Nicholls collected 11 steals with Winborne matching English with a team-high four.
HCU had four players score in double figures, led by Kylin Green with 15 points.
UP NEXT
Nicholls will step out of conference play for the final time with a road game in California against Pacific. Tipoff on Sunday, Dec. 21 is slated for 6 p.m. CT.
