Lamar University led by as many as 15 points, but Nicholls managed to rally in the second half and escape with a four-point victory to end the Cardinals season, 64-60, at Stopher Gym Wednesday evening.
Freshman Nate Calmese closed out a strong rookie season with 19 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals. He was joined in double-figures by 12 points from Jason Thirdkill, who was 4-of-5 (.800) from the floor.
As a team, the Cardinals were 20-of-55 (.364), which included seven three-pointers and a near perfect 13-of-14 (.929) effort at the free throw line.
Nicholls finished the night 24-of-71 (.338) with eight triples and an 8-of-10 (.800) effort at the free throw line, but the difference in the game came down to turnovers and the boards. Nicholls had a 44-38 advantage on rebounds which led to a 21-13 difference in second chance points in favor of the home team. The Cardinals were also forced into six more miscues which led to a 10-point advantage for Nicholls in points off turnovers.
Nicholls had a five-point lead early in the first half but a Terry Anderson block to stop a fast break, which led to an Anderson three-pointer sparked a 14-0 run that saw the Cardinals jump out to an 11-point lead, 31-20. Big Red pushed that lead to 14 points heading into the locker room.
Trailing by as many as 15 in the second half, Nicholls got a basket from Paul Lance-Amir with less than 17 minutes to play. The field goal, which trimmed the deficit to 13, seemed harmless at the moment but it sparked a 17-2 run that saw Nicholls tie the game with just over 10 minutes remaining.
Thirdkill put an end to the run with an and-one which stopped the bleeding momentarily. After the three-point play both teams were kept off the scoreboard for the next two minutes until Caleb Huffman tied the game back with a three-pointer. From that point on, the game remained a close tug-o-war that saw the Colonels stake claim to a four-point lead with less than two minutes to play. A Calmese basket got trimmed the lead down to two with 41 seconds left but LU was able to score again after that.
The season for the Cardinals ends with a 9-22 (.290) record and a 5-13 (.278) conference mark, a seven-game overall improvement from last season.