NEW ORLEANS, La. - After trailing by as much as 13 in the second half, the Nicholls State University men's basketball team rallied to trim the deficit to one against Tulane, but the Colonels could never retake the lead as they fell 77-63 on Tuesday night in the Devilin Fieldhouse.
With 12 minutes remaining,
AJ Dent found space inside to make it a 46-45. But Tulane (2-1) answered with a 12-2 run to push the advantage back to double figures and never looked back, winning for the sixth straight time against the Colonels.
Dent had a strong outing for Nicholls (1-2), finishing with 16 points on 8 of 12 from the field and added seven rebounds.
Christian Winborne sank three 3-pointers and totaled 15 points, while
Sheridan Sharp (13 pts) and
Doyel Cockrill III (11) rounded out the leading scorers.
The Colonels shot 43.4 percent from the field and made 13 of 17 at the free throw line, but had trouble finding its touch from outside by knocking down just 4 of 19 from 3-point range. Tulane finished at 43 percent overall and 50 percent from long range and took advantage of its trips to the free throw line, making 30 of 38.Â
Krystian Lewis finished with a game-high 35 points, aided by 17 of 17 at the charity stripe. Tyler Ringgold also scored in double figures for Tulane (2-1) with 12 points.Â
Nicholls had a solid start to the night, jumping out to a 7-2 lead. Dent and Sharp scored inside the arc while Cockrill sank a triple. Tulane answered with the next eight points and never trailed again for the rest of the night.
The Colonels fell behind by 13 in the half but clawed back to a six-point deficit after a bucket by
Mor Mboup; however, Tulane ended the half with the last five points including three free throws by Lewis in the final seconds for a 35-24 halftime lead.
Midway through the second half, Sharp helped fuel the rally with four layups. His last made it a one-possession game with under 13 minutes remaining before Dent brought it to 46-45. But Lewis sparked the decisive run with a field goal and a 3-pointer as Tulane cruised to the victory.
Up Next
Nicholls returns home to host Louisiana Tech on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. inside Stopher Gymnasium. Tickets are available
here.
