THIBODAUX, Louisiana --- Playing its third game in five days, Houston Christian University fell into a big hole to start the night and never fully recovered, falling 79-64 to Nicholls State University at David R. Stopher Gymnasium on Wednesday night. The Huskies fought back to cut a 20-point first half deficit all the way down to six in the second stanza, but couldn't get over the hump in dropping their third straight game.
 
The Colonels wasted no time in taking control as they started the ballgame with a 11-0 run behind six points from Jalik Dunkley and five from Jaylen Searles. An offensive putback by Trent Johnson finally got the Huskies on the board with 16:03 on the scoreboard, but another three-ball from Searles pushed the opening burst to 14-2 just before the opening media horn sounded. Nicholls would push the lead to 20 with just eight minutes played in the game.
 
HCU then stepped up their defense, holding the hosts to just two points over the next four minutes. A jump hook by Demari Williams broke a five-minute scoring drought for HCU and after a pair of free throws by Kylin Green, D'Aundre Samuels went coast-to-coast for a layup. Williams then canned two free throws and the Huskies had cut the lead to 14, 24-10 with 8:40 to play in the first frame.
 
Consecutive scores by Green and Williams extended the run to 12-2, as HCU kept chipping away. Nicholls would extend the margin back out to 31-18 just before the half, but on the final possession Mambourou Mara blocked a Trae English layup, and Elijah Brooks dropped a dime to Ryan Bartley for a buzzer-beating three-ball that sent the Huskies to the intermission down just nine, 31-22.
 
Green hit a three and back-to-back scores from Bethea cut the deficit to six, 35-29 just three minutes into the second session. The pace would quicken and after a dunk on a breakaway by Bethea, Christian Winborne connected from long range as the Colonels reclaimed a double-digit lead, 43-33 at the 14:50 mark.
 
Trae English would score on a steal and layup to push the lead to 13, 48-35. A smooth finish in the lane by Green cut the lead to 48-39, but Jaylen Searles hit a jumper and Nicholls led 50-39 at the under-12. He would connect again out of the break, this one from distance and the HCU deficit had grown back to 14.
 
A strong move to the bucket at the end of the shot clock turned into a three-point play for Demari Williams as the second half reached its midway point. The deficit was still 10 after Trae English and Kylin Green traded triples, and a layup by Bartley got the Huskies to within nine once more, 60-51 with 7:02 to play.
 
The two teams would go back-and-forth for the next three minutes before a Trent Johnson score drew the Huskies to 65-58. Consecutive scores by Winsborne and Malone extended the lead to 11, 69-58 as the two teams hit the benches for the final media break of the night with 3:42 on the Stopher Gym scoreboard.
 
Another Bartley layup was chased by two free throws by Williams to clip the lead to seven, but Jaylen Searles had the answer as he knocked down a stepback three-pointer with 2:22 to play to get the hosts lead back to 10 and squelch any last-ditch rally attempt by the Huskies.
 
After starting out 1-8 on the night, the Huskies settled in and finished the game at 51% from the floor. HCU hit just 2-9 from the arc and a season-high 18 turnovers led to 18 points for Nicholls. The Colonels shot 48% but weren't much better from deep, hitting 9-29 for 31% on the evening.
 
Kylin Green led four players in double-figures for the Huskies, scoring 15 points. Demarco Bethea matched his career-high with 14 points while Demari Williams finished one shy of his with 13 points. Ryan Bartley also had 13 points while Trent Johnson had game-highs of eight caroms and three helpers.
 
Jalik Dunkley had a game-high 23 points on 9-10 shooting from the floor to pace Nicholls (3-7 | 2-0 SLC). Jaylen Searles added 18, hitting 4-8 from deep while Trae English chipped in 14 and five rebounds.
 
HCU heads into the Christmas break at 5-7 overall and 1-3 in Southland Conference play. The Huskies will be off for 12 days before returning to action on December 29 when they head to Ames, Iowa for a matchup with currently No. 4 ranked Iowa State University.
 
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