Colonels prevail in overtime once again with 78-74 conference road win over Incarnate Word

The team with the most overtime experience won Monday night.

When Nicholls’ Mekhi Collins blocked the shot of Sky Wicks with one second left in regulation, the 62-62 tie sent the game to overtime.

It was the fourth overtime for the visiting Colonels, including the third this season in Southland Conference play. Incarnate Word, which entered the game winless in conference play, had no previous experience playing extra minutes.

As the teams traded baskets in the overtime period, the game was either tied or the Colonels enjoyed a two-point edge. The only time Nicholls led by more than three was when a 3-pointer by Rob Brown gave the Colonels a three-point edge at 67-64.

The three-point advantage quickly disappeared when Joshua Hammons answered with a 3-pointer of his own.

Diante Smith hit a free throw to give Nicholls a two-point edge at 76-74 with 14 seconds left in overtime.

Needing a basketball to force a second overtime, Alex Anderson had the ball taken away by Byron Ireland. Ireland went coast-to-coast, scoring with one second remaining to secure a 78-74 win for Nicholls in San Antonio.

The win improved Nicholls to 4-2 in the Southland and 9-10 overall. UIW remained winless in the conference at 0-5 and fell to 5-13 overall.

Ireland and Smith each had 20 points to pace Nicholls. Brown tossed in 15 points, and Collins 10. Ireland and Collins each had six rebounds.

Anderson had 21 points to lead all scorers. Wicks had 14 for the Cardinals, Hammons 11, and Josh Akpovwa 10. Wicks led all players with eight rebounds.

With the score tied 39-39 early in the second half, the Cardinals went on an 11-2 run to take their biggest lead of the game at nine points. A basket by Davante Dennis off an offensive rebound gave UIW at 50-41 lead at the 11:54 mark of the second half.

It was at that point the Colonels went to a full-court press. The Cardinals handled the press in getting across the timeline but had trouble running their half-court offense after the switch.

A basket by Ireland, a three-point play by Collins, a jumper by Brown, and a layup on a fast break allowed Nicholls to tie the game at 50-50.

UIW eventually built a lead of five points at 60-55 on a short jumper by Anderson with 3:12 left in regulation, but the Colonels fought back to force overtime.

A 3-pointer by Wicks gave UIW an early five-point lead at 9-4 less than three minutes into the game.

Two free throws by Smith, a dunk by Collins, and two 3-pointers by Smith were part of a 10-0 run to put Nicholls on top 14-9.

Less than four minutes into the game, Smith already had scored 10 points. Smith added only two more points the rest of the half.

Josh Morgan ended the Colonels’ 10-point run with a 3-pointer of his own, making it 14-12 in favor of Nicholls at the 16:06 mark of the opening half.

The teams got off to hot starts offensively, each topping 50 percent from the field, but cooled off considerably during the middle portion of the half as the teams traded baskets before the scoring heated up again later in the period.

The biggest lead for Nicholls came at six points when Jalen White connected on his only basket of the first half, a 3-pointer to put the Colonels on top 34-28 with 2:57 remaining in the period.

White’s basket would prove to be the last points of the half for Nicholls.

UIW scored the final seven points of the second quarter on three free throws by Anderson, a shot off the glass by Anderson, and a dunk by Akpovwa to give the Cardinals a 35-34 lead at the break.

Nicholls ended up shooting 10 of 24 (41.7 percent) from the field in the first half, including 3 of 9 (33.3 percent) from 3-point range.

UIW connected on 12 of 24 shots (50 percent), including 3 of 5 (60 percent) from distance.

The Cardinals outscored Nicholls 22-5 in bench points in the first half.