Nicholls men face Texas A&M-Commerce in first game of SLC tourney

In two regular-season meetings between Nicholls and Texas A&M-Commerce, the Colonels won one game on the road in double-overtime, and another at home when the Lions were shorthanded.

If Nicholls is to make it three wins this season, the Colonels will have to do it on a neutral court.

Nicholls, the No. 3 seed, will take on No. 7 seed Texas A&M-Commerce at 7:30 p.m. Monday in the Southland Conference men’s basketball tournament.

Texas A&M-Commerce (13-19) advanced to the second round of the tournament with a 69-64 win Sunday night over Northwestern State, the No. 6 seed. As the No. 3 seed, Nicholls earned an opening-round bye.

Nicholls (18-13) won at Commerce 87-84 in double-overtime and 85-70 in Thibodaux.

The first meeting between the teams was a game that featured 25 lead changes, eight ties, several scoring sprees and scoring droughts.

Diante Smith, who had a career-high 29 points, hit a 3-point shot with 30 seconds left in regulation to force the game to overtime at 65-65.

Nicholls hit the first two baskets of the initial overtime to lead by four points before the teams, as they had done throughout the game, traded baskets.

Two free throws by the Lions’ Kwo Agwa with 12 seconds left in overtime gave Texas A&M-Commerce a 77-74 lead with nine seconds left in the game.

Smith hit a 3-pointer with one second remaining to send the game to a second overtime with the score tied 77-77.

The lead changed hands three times in the second overtime, with the final one proving to be the difference for the Colonels.

A basket by Tommie Lewis left the Lions trailing 84-82 with 15 seconds left in the second overtime.

Two free throws by Byron Ireland put Nicholls on top 86-82 with 10 seconds left in the game.

Lewis drove quickly for an uncontested layup to make it 86-84 with 5.8 seconds remaining in the second overtime.

Commerce was forced to foul, with Rob Brown going to the free-throw line. He hit 1 of 2 with four seconds showing, giving the Lions one last desperation chance.

James Weathers’ heave was off the mark, allowing Nicholls to come away with another overtime triumph.

In the second game played in Thibodaux, the Lions were shorthanded, playing their first game following the suspension of several players after postgame altercation in their previous game against Incarnate Word.

The Lions only had five players on their entire bench but had their backcourt intact.

Kalen Williams pumped in a game-high 31 points to keep Texas A&M-Commerce in the game.

With Williams scoring 15 first-half points, Nicholls held a six-point edge of 39-33 at halftime.

Nicholls reached its biggest lead of the game at 15 points on a slam by Mekhi Collins for a 59-44 advantage with 12 minutes left in the game.

The Lions made a run at Nicholls late in the game.

Trailing 72-59, Commerce scored seven-straight points on a layup by Rob Banks, a 3-pointer by Lewis, and two Williams free throws to trail only by six points at 72-66 with 2:21 left in the game.

That was as close as the Lions would get.

Nicholls scored the last seven points of the game on two free throws by Brown, two Quinn Strander free throws, and a 3-point heave by Taylor Blanchard at the buzzer. Blanchard’s buzzer beater allowed the final margin of 15 points to equal the Colonels’ biggest lead of the game.

The Colonels go into the game with several statistical advantages over the Lions.

Commerce ranks last in the 10-team conference in field goal percentage at 39.9 percent, in 3-point percentage at 31.4, and in rebounding, averaging 32.4 rebounds per outing.

By contrast, Nicholls is third in field goal percentage at 45.5 percent, and second in 3-point percentage at 37.3 percent. The Colonels are seventh in rebounding, averaging 32.4 boards per contest.

Williams is second in the league in scoring at 18.5 points per game. Other double-figure scorers for the Lions include Jerome Brewer, who is averaging 14.2 points, Lewis 14.1 points, and Agwa at 10.9 points. Brewer paces the team in rebounding, averaging 5.5 rebounds per game.

Smith, a first-team all-conference selection, is fifth in the league in scoring at 16.4 points per game, ninth in field goal percentage at 41.4 percent, and fourth in 3-point shooting at 40.7 percent.

Brown leads the conference in 3-point shooting at 46.4 percent, is fourth in scoring at 16.7 percent, fourth in field goal shooting at 45.5 percent.

Also in double-figure scoring for Nicholls is Jamal West at 12.3 points per game. A second-team and all-defensive team pick in the SLC, West is 10th in rebounding, averaging 6.7 rebounds per outing.