NACOGDOCHES, Texas - A
Robert Brown III three-pointer in the opening minutes set the tone for an impressive shooting performance for the Nicholls State University men's basketball team as the Colonels led wire-to-wire in their 94-70 victory over Stephen F. Austin on Saturday inside William R. Johnson Coliseum.
Nicholls (19-11, 13-6 SLC) shot 52 percent in the win and made 13 of 24 from behind the arc, powered by Brown's 7-of-11 night. He finished with 25 points to lead four Colonels in double figures as
Trae English had 15 points,
Sincere Malone flirted with a triple double with 13 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, and
Jamal West Jr. netted 13 to reach 1,000 career points between his time at Nicholls and South Alabama.
With the victory and Lamar's loss to McNeese, Monday's finale in Beaumont will be for the No. 2 seed in next week's Southland Conference Tournament. Nicholls fell to Lamar (18-12, 13-6 SLC) in the previous meeting but would finish a game ahead in the standings with a series split. The Colonels would be No. 3 with a loss.
In Saturday's win, the Colonels cruised from the get-go and led 14-4 after a
Michael Gray Jr. three-pointer. The defense stifled SFA (14-16, 7-12 SFA) in the first half, holding the Lumberjacks to 29 percent shooting in the period.
Nicholls saw its largest lead at 32-16 on an English layup with five minutes until the break. SFA found its footing on the offensive end and trimmed the deficit to nine points twice, but Nicholls went into the intermission with a 46-33 advantage.
Leading by 10 early in the second half, English and West teamed up for an 8-0 run as the Colonels jumped ahead, 59-41. The lead stayed in the teens until Brown sank another triple to make the score 72-51.
The biggest margin came with just under four minutes to go when
Jaylen Searles sank two threes in an 8-0 run, giving Nicholls a 94-65 lead.
On offense, Searles, Gray and
Caleb Robinson chipped in with eight points. Malone led the defense with five of the Colonels' 10 steals.
Myles Jenkins led SFA with 16 points and Matt Hayman added 14.
The win snapped a 14-game losing streak at SFA with the last victory coming in 2000. It also gave Nicholls its first sweep of the Lumberjacks since 1998.
UP NEXT
Nicholls will close out the regular season at Lamar on Monday, March 3. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
