HOUSTON - The Nicholls State University men's basketball team erased a 14-point second-half deficit before HCU staved off the comeback to hand the Colonels a 72-68 loss on Monday night inside Sharp Gymnasium.

Trae English helped lead the surge, finishing with 17 points and six assists. Jaylen Searles scored 14 points and Jalik Dunkley tallied his sixth double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. 

With the loss, Nicholls slipped to 11-16 overall and 10-8 in the Southland. The Colonels are in a three-way tie for fourth place with four games remaining. HCU (10-17, 6-12 SLC) secured its first win over Nicholls since 2019, snapping a 12-game losing streak in the series.

Nicholls led 11-10 midway through the first half but HCU took the reins for the rest of the period. An 11-0 run gave the Huskies a double-digit lead before English made a free throw to end the Colonels' scoring drought. 

HCU led by as much as 15 in the period but Nicholls clawed back, ending the stanza on a 13-4 run to trail 35-29 at the half.

After the break, the Huskies gradually pushed the margin to 14 through the first 10 minutes. But Nicholls would catch fire from three-point range by hitting four of its five three-pointers on the night.

Searles drained back-to-back triples and was fouled on a third attempt, knocking down two free throws. English followed with a layup before Zee Hamoda canned a three-pointer for a 52-51 lead, capping a 15-0 run. 

HCU led briefly on Kylin Green free throws, but Nick Krass sank a three-pointer to put Nicholls back on top. Sincere Malone added two free throws for a 59-55 advantage with just under five minutes to go.

However, HCU hit a three then Green scored inside and was fouled for a 63-61 lead with three minutes remaining. After another HCU free throw, English scored twice but Nicholls could never tie or take the lead down the stretch. The Huskies made their final four free throws to ice the victory. 

Despite the four three-pointers to fuel the comeback, Nicholls made just 5 of 18 for the game and shot 42 percent overall. 

Green was one of five Huskies in double figures as he finished with 12 points and six assists.

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Nicholls will head back to Texas next week with matchups at SFA (Feb. 21) and Lamar (Feb. 23).