THIBODAUX, La. - The Nicholls State University men's basketball team fell behind Stephen F. Austin by as much as 25 points in the first half as the Colonels dropped their third consecutive contest with a 79-62 loss on Monday night on Broussard Court at Stopher Gymnasium.

Nicholls (8-11, 7-3 SLC) ended last week in first place and had a chance to move back up to the top of the standings against the Lumberjacks, but SFA (16-3, 9-1 SLC) led wire-to-wire to keep sole possession of first. The win snapped a two-game winning streak in the series for the Colonels and it was SFA's first win in Thibodaux since 2016.

Jaylen Searles led the Colonels with 22 points while Trae English and Jalik Dunkley added 12 each. But as a team, Nicholls struggled to score in the first half by shooting 25 percent which led to a 45-24 halftime deficit.

The Lumberjacks scored the first six points and then a three-pointer gave them a 12-2 advantage, forcing a Colonel timeout. SFA then doubled its lead at the seven-minute mark by going up 31-11. SFA finished the half shooting 53 percent and made 7 of 14 from behind the arc.

In the second half, the Lumberjacks maintained a double-figure lead the rest of the way. Nicholls had a spark after a three-pointer by Searles, a Dunkley dunk, and a Christian Winborne three-ball that made it 56-40 with 12 minutes to go. Searles then canned another three to make it a 15-point game but the Colonels would not get any closer.

Keon Thompson led SFA with 20 points on 8 of 10 from the field and Chrishawn Christmas had a double-double with 14 rebounds and 10 points.

For Nicholls, Searles and Dunkley each grabbed eight rebounds while Winborne added four steals.

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Nicholls will head to Southeastern on Saturday, Jan. 24 before returning home on Monday to take on New Orleans in the annual Stuff Stopher game.