THIBODAUX, La. - Michael Gray Jr. came off the bench for a season-high 20 points to lead four Colonels in double figures as the Nicholls State University men's basketball team handed McNeese its first league loss of the season with a 71-63 victory Saturday afternoon inside Stopher Gymnasium.
Nicholls (13-9, 7-4 SLC) held the lead for most of the game, using eight first-half three-pointers to build a 35-28 advantage at the break. The Colonels never trailed after the intermission and went up by as much as nine. McNeese (16-6, 10-1 SLC) trimmed the deficit to four on a Brandon Murray basket-and-one with less than three minutes remaining, but
Sincere Malone answered with Colonels' 11th and final triple of the night to put the game away.
Malone finished with 10 points while
Jaylen Searles and
Jamal West Jr. added 12 each. Searles notched his first double-double with 10 rebounds. Gray's season-high came on 7 of 10 shooting which included 4 of 6 from behind the arc.
With the win, Nicholls snapped a five-game skid in the series against the defending champions and ended the Cowboys' 19-game winning streak in league play. McNeese ended last year with nine straight wins before starting this season 10-0.
The Colonels fed off the home crowd early as four different players drained a three-ball in the first six minutes of the game, making way for a 14-8 lead. Nicholls saw a nine-point lead at 21-12 before the Cowboys reeled off a 10-0 run to go ahead.
Gray, who hit several big shots in the victory, drained a three to answer, and then with the game tied at 26, Malone and Gray sank back-to-back triples. Gray added one more from long range in the final seconds to give Nicholls the seven-point edge.
In the second half, besides two three-point margins in the early minutes, Nicholls never let the Cowboys make it a one-possession game. After making 8 of 14 from three in the first half, Nicholls did most of its scoring inside by hitting 9 of 13 two-pointers and went 9 of 11 at the free throw line.
Both teams shot 48 percent for the game but Nicholls held McNeese to 0 of 12 from three-point range, marking the first time this season the Cowboys failed to make a three. The Colonels headed into the matchup ranked 13th in the NCAA in three-point defense.
Murray led McNeese with 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting and Quadie Copeland added 14.
STUFF STOPHER
Nicholls will host HCU on Monday, Feb. 3 for their annual Stuff Stopher Event. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
