White’s fifth 3-pointer of game gives Nicholls men’s basketball team 68-66 win over LSU

In a season-opening loss to Tulane, a 12-point first-half lead didn’t hold up for the Nicholls men’s basketball team.

In an attempt to keep history from repeating itself four days later, the Colonels built a 24-point first-half lead.

Nicholls lost the lead, but not the game, when guard Jalen White hit a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left for a 68-66 Nicholls edge.

A long inbounds pass by LSU made it into the hands of 7-footer Will Baker. Baker’s shot hit the rim but didn’t fall, allowing the Colonels to post the two-point triumph Friday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge.

The win was the first for Nicholls over LSU since 2010 and only the second time in the history of the series between the schools that the Colonels have been victorious.

The triumph evened the Colonels record at 1-1 and gave Tevon Saddler, a former player, his first win as Nicholls coach. LSU also moved to 1-1 with the loss.

Nicholls built a lead of as much as 24 points when two free throws by Jamal West gave the Colonels a 44-20 lead with 2:04 remaining in the opening half.

The Tigers’ comeback actually began in the closing moments of the first half. Following the free throws by West, LSU scored the final five points of the period – all on free throws – to cut the margin to 19 points to make the score 44-25 at the break.

LSU picked up the defensive intensity in the second half, causing Nicholls into several turnovers, and the 3-pointers the Colonels rained down on the Tigers in the first half were no longer falling. Offensively, the Tigers started to effectively drive to the basket.

The Tigers used runs of 9, 12, and 9 points to cut into the deficit and eventually take the lead.

Starting with the final points of the first half and a basket by Carlos Stewart and two Jordan Wright free throws, LSU cut the score to 44-29.

LSU concluded a 12-point run a Derek Fountain 3-pointer to pull to within 47-41 at the 14:08 mark of the second half.

After LSU tied the game at 57-57 on two Jalen Reed free throws, Reed added another free throw to put the Tigers on top for the first time in the game, and a basket by Mike Williams extended the LSU lead to 60-57 to close out another nine-point run.

A follow-up slam by Daimion Collins with 1:41 left in the game gave LSU a 66-63 lead.

Nicholls pulled to within one point on two Robert Brown free throws before White came up with the 3-pointer for the win.

After knocking down nine 3-pointers in the first half, the Colonels managed only two in the second half.

White’s first three shots of the game were 3-pointers. He ended up with four in the first half before going cold from long distance until his final shot for the game winner.

White finished with 17 points for Nicholls. Diante Smith led Nicholls in scoring with 18 points. West added 14 and Brown 11. Smith and White each had six rebounds for the Colonels.

Reed led LSU with 14 points and eight rebounds. Wright chipped in 11 points.

The Colonels out-rebounded LSU 32-31. Nicholls committed 20 turnovers to 13 for LSU.  The Colonels had a complete turnaround from their free-throw shooting woes in the season opener, connecting on 14 of 15 against the Tigers.

Nicholls was playing its first game following the dismissal of Doctor Bradley, who transferred to the Thibodaux school for the 2023-24 season from New Mexico State.

Bradley was one of three former members of the New Mexico State men’s basketball team indicted by a New Mexico grand jury on Thursday with multiple counts of criminal sexual penetration, criminal sexual conduct, and false imprisonment. Bradley could face 27 years in jail if convicted on 13 charges against him.

The announcement marked the first criminal charges from what New Mexico State officials had termed a hazing incident. New Mexico State cancelled the final eight games of the 2022-23 season and fired head coach Greg Haiar.

Nicholls was to be Bradley’s fourth stop in his collegiate career.

The 6-foot-8 forward played in 22 games with 10 starts for New Mexico State in 2022-23, averaging 6.4 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.

Bradley played at Cal State Fullerton from 2019-21 and then transferred to Salt Lake Community College. After spending one season at Salt Lake, he transferred to New Mexico State.

Three 3-pointers to open the game by White and a fast-break layup by Brown gave Nicholls an 11-point lead less than four minutes into the contest.

Two free throws by Brown and a 3-pointer by Smith – the fifth of the first half – extended the Colonels’ lead to 16 points at 25-9 at the 11:37 mark of the opening half.

A conventional three points on a basket and free throw Smith increased Nicholls’ lead to 19 points at 28-9 with 11:03 remaining.

LSU didn’t hit double-figure scoring as a team until there was only 9:57 left in the half on a Stewart free throw that made the score 28-10.

A 3-pointer by Michael Gray gave Nicholls a 22-point lead at 36-14. It was the seventh 3-pointer of half for the Colonels, producing 21 points.

The biggest lead of the first half for Nicholls came following the ninth and final 3-pointer of the period on a shot by Smith, plus two West free throws to put the Colonels on top 44-20 on their way to a 44-25 halftime lead.

After topping 70 percent from the field throughout much of the first half, Nicholls ended the first 20 minutes by hitting 57 percent from the floor, including 53 percent from 3-point range as three Colonels reached double-figure scoring in the first half.

By contrast, LSU shot 39 percent from the field, including only nine percent from distance.

Nicholls out-rebounded LSU 19-13 in the opening half.