LAKE CHARLES, La. - Nicholls Men's Basketball aims to continue its historic start as the Colonels take on the defending Southland champs, McNeese, Monday night in Lake Charles. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

While nine of the 12 teams in the Southland Conference already have at least three losses, Nicholls and McNeese are two of the three with no or one loss. The Colonels (8-8, 7-0 SLC) stayed perfect in league play following their 90-77 win at New Orleans while the Cowboys (13-3, 6-1 SLC) stayed a game back with a victory over Southeastern.

Nicholls relied on the three-ball at UNO, connecting on 17 of 37 from long range for a 46 percent clip. In the seven league games, the Colonels are shooting a Southland best 39.7 percent. The 17 made three-pointers was a season high and the most for the program since making 18 in a win over UIW in 2023.

Jaylen Searles was the go-to scorer in the win on Saturday, finishing with his Colonel career-high of 24 points. He now leads the team with 14.3 points per game which ranks 10th in the Southland. 

With Jalik Dunkley out of the lineup versus the Privateers, the Colonels received two strong performances from Zee Hamoda and Zaiden Cross. Hamoda scored a season-high 20 points off the bench while Cross made the start and hit 4 of 8 three-pointers. 

Nicholls led 47-43 at the break but locked in defensively in the second half, limiting UNO to 40 percent shooting in the second half and 1 of 7 from three-point range. The Colonels also lead the Southland in conference play in three-point defense as opponents are shooting 27.9 percent.

McNeese features the SLC's top scoring offense after seven league games, averaging 80 points. Tyshawn Archie paces the Cowboys with 15.1 ppg, followed closely by Larry Johnson who is at 14.3. Archie poured in 25 points in the Saturday win over Southeastern.

Both squads come in averaging a league best 9.6 steals, while also ranking as the best in turnover margin at plus-five per game. 

The teams split the season series last year with each defending their home court. Nicholls had lost the last five against the Cowboys before its 71-63 victory in the last meeting.

McNeese looks to continue its dominance on its home floor against league opponents. The Cowboys have not lost in Lake Charles against an SLC program since the semifinals of the 2023 Southland Tournament against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.