LAKE CHARLES, La. - The Nicholls State University men's basketball team pieced together its best defensive showing of the season, holding Northwestern State to an opponent low in points and field goal percentage, as the Colonels knocked off the Demons, 61-47, in the opening round of the Southland Conference Tournament on Sunday night at Townsley Law Arena.

With the victory, Nicholls (14-18) will take on No. 3 UTRGV (18-13) for a spot in the semifinals. Tipoff for Monday night's game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

On offense, Sincere Malone led a trio of Colonels in double figures with 14 points to go along with three steals. Jalik Dunkley had 13 points and seven boards, and Jalin Rice totaled 12 points on 5 of 8 from the field. Jaylen Searles chipped in with nine points and Grant Sanders added seven rebounds and four assists.

The Colonel defense fueled the victory over the Demons, limiting NSU to 28.6 percent from the field and less than 25 points in each half. The Colonels caused problems for All-Southland guard Micah Thomas all night, holding him to four points on 2-of-14 shooting.

Nicholls started out slow on offense as well, shooting 35.7 percent to lead 25-24 at the break. The Demons hit one of their seven three-pointers on the night for a late lead, but Rice scored on a layup with 16 seconds remaining to put Nicholls on top.

The Colonels led for the entire second half but it wasn't until the 12-minute mark that they pulled away. Up 40-34, Searles and Christian Winborne scored inside before Malone had a steal  and a breakaway bucket for a double-digit lead. Malone followed with a three-ball and then Sanders found Rice for a basket-and-one, pushing the advantage to 51-35.

The lead stayed in double figures for the final eight minutes as Nicholls took all three meetings against Northwestern State this season.

Izzy Miles led the Demons with 14 points and Landyn Jumawan finished with 12. The 47 points was the fewest Nicholls surrendered this season, beating the previous low of 49 against College of Biblical Studies.