LAKE CHARLES, La. – Second-seeded Lamar rallied from 12 down to defeat the third-seeded Nicholls by the score of 58-55 on Tuesday evening in the semifinals of the Jersey Mike's Southland Basketball Championships presented by Explore Louisiana. 

With the loss, Nicholls finishes the season with a 20-14 overall record. Lamar returns to the title game for the first time since 2012, where it will face its rivals, the top-seeded McNeese Cowboys.

Despite the loss, it was Nicholls who came out red-hot to start this game as Jaylen Searles and Robert Brown III got the offense rolling to a 17-6 lead in the first eight minutes. Nicholls held firm control of their lead despite Lamar chipping away at the deficit as they hardened on defense.

Lamar began to work in the paint, closing the gap down to two with two minutes to play, but a Searles 3-pointer with under a minute to go gave Nicholls a five point lead going into the break. 

The Colonels used that momentum to build the lead out to 10 behind a 3-pointer from Brown and a lay-in from Searles. An 8-0 run by Lamar, again going to work in the paint, and brought the Cardinals within one possession. 

A Dawsey 3-pointer tied the game at 42, but Nicholls regained the lead and stayed ahead, eventually taking a 50-46 lead on a jumper from Byron Ireland.

From there, Nicholls cooled down, only scoring five points in the final 7:56. 

After a Alex Marmolejos lay-in to tie it at 50 and a few empty possessions by both sides, Holifield came away with a huge block where Ja'Sean Jackson kncoked down a jumper on the other end to give Lamar their first lead since early in the first half.

Brown responded with a 3-pointer and the two sides traded points as Nicholls found themselves ahead 55-54 with 1:21 to play.

After a miss by Lamar, Jackson stepped in front of an errant pass for a steal and found Adam Hamilton under the basket for two to lead 56-55 with 44 seconds to play. Lamar got a stop and two free throws from Marmolejos to lead by three.

Brown got a look on the final possession, but it fell short as Lamar took the thriller. 

Brown led Nicholls with 17 points, six rebounds, and three assists, while Searles added 14 points and three steals.