Nicholls men can secure No. 3 seed in SLC tournament with a win over Lions

The task is pretty straightforward for the Nicholls men’s basketball team when the Colonels take on Southeastern Louisiana at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Hammond.

Nicholls has secured a first-round bye in the upcoming Southland Conference postseason tournament but what the seeding will be for the Colonels is in their own hands.

The Colonels enter the game 12-5 in the SLC and in third place.

On Wednesday, Lamar defeated Houston Christian 78-68. That allowed the Cardinals to close the regular season at 12-6. Should Nicholls defeat SLU, the Colonels are the No. 3 seed. A loss by Nicholls would place the Colonels in a tie with Lamar. Since Lamar defeated Nicholls twice in the regular season, the Cardinals would gain the No. 3 seed.

The outcome makes little difference for Southeastern (10-7 in the SLC and 15-15 overall) since the Lions are locked into the No. 5 seed.

Nicholls defeated Southeastern Louisiana 66-61 in Thibodaux in the second game of the SLC season on January 9.

The loss was the first of four straight games for SLU. Since then, the Lions have won nine of their last 12

In the earlier meeting between the teams, Nicholls never trailed but the Colonels faced several key moments down the stretch. During that span, the Lions had a six-game winning streak.

The Lions trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half and managed to dwindle the Colonels’ lead down to two points 63 seconds into the second half. Nicholls went on to rebuild a lead of as much as 10 points before SLU rallied again to within three points with less than four minutes remaining in the game.

As the margin remained between three and four points down the stretch, each time the Lions attempted to get even closer, the Colonels responded in a big way.

A basket off an offensive rebound by SLU’s Brody Rowbury cut the Nicholls lead down to three points at 55-52. Diante Smith quickly answered with a 3-pointer. After the Lions cut the deficit to four points, Rob Brown followed with another 3-pointer, giving the Colonels a 61-54 edge.

Up by only four points once again, Jamal West hit two free throws after being fouled following an offensive rebound.

A 3-pointer by Southeastern’s Nick Caldwell made it a 63-60 game.

The Lions had possession of the ball with a chance to tie the game with a 3-pointer with less than a minute remaining in the game. SLU elected to go inside to Rowbury down low. Mekhi Collins blocked the big man’s shot with 23.7 seconds left in the game.

West hit the first of two free-throw attempts to up the lead to four points as Nicholls went on to take the 66-61 win.

Nicholls goes into the game averaging 74.4 points per game in conference play, compared to 70.9 for SLU. Defensively, the Lions are third in the league, allowing 69.1 points per outing. Nicholls is sixth at 74.1. The Lions lead the league in rebounding, averaging 32.4 boards per game. The Colonels are seventh with an average of 35.4.

The Colonels are fourth in the SLC in field goal percentage, hitting at a 45.5 percent clip, while the Lions are sixth at 44.8. Nicholls is second in 3-point shooting at 37.4 percent, while Southeastern is right behind at 37.2 percent.

Two SLU players rank first in the Southland. Roger McFarlane is the only player in the conference to average in double figures in rebounding, pulling down 10.1 boards per outing.

Roscoe Eastmond leads the SLC in assists, averaging 7.9 per game.

Two players for each team appear in the conference’s top 10 statistically.

Caldwell is third in the SLC in scoring, averaging 17.6 points per game. McFarlane is eighth at 15.8. Smith is fourth, averaging 16.6 points, and Brown fifth at 16.5.

Caldwell is second in the league in field goal percentage at 53.8 percent. McFarlane is ninth at 41.8. Brown is third at 46 percent, and Smith eighth at 41.7.

Brown leads the league in 3-point shooting at 46 percent, while Smith is third at 41.8 percent.