Box Score Box Score
HAMMOND – Trent Hutchin scored nine of his team-high 21 points in a 16-1 run to open the second half as Southeastern Louisiana pulled away and defeated Nicholls State, 76-63, in a Southland Conference game Saturday at the University Center.
Patrick Sullivan posted his 20th career double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds as Southeastern (14-9, 6-4 SLC) pulled away from a 34-32 halftime lead to sweep the season series in decisive fashion. In the two-game series against Nicholls State (7-17, 3-8 SLC), Southeastern shot a blistering 59-for-94 (62.8 percent) from the floor and 15-for-24 (62.5 percent) from behind the 3-point line.
Hutchin, who scored a career-high 27 points in an 84-65 win at Nicholls State two weeks ago, made his first seven shots from the floor before missing his final attempt with 4:29 remaining. The junior opened the second-half for the Lions with a four-point play before sneaking behind the Colonel defense for a layup and finishing with a 3-pointer that put Southeastern ahead, 45-33.
Jason Marks added a bucket for Southeastern and
Rodney Jones added a three-point play as the Lions built a 50-33 lead with 15:57 remaining in the game.
Nicholls State got as close as 54-42 when Chris Iles buried a jumper, but Southeastern responded with a 10-2 run capped by a Jones steal and layup for a 64-44 lead with 5:56 left.
Southeastern finished 28-for-46 (60.9 percent) from the floor against the Colonels, including 15-for-23 (65.2 percent) in the second half. Jones added a season-high 16 points for the Lions while Sullivan went 7-for-10 from the floor and blocked six shots.
Nicholls State, which dropped its fifth straight game, erased an 11-5 deficit as it used a 13-3 run to take its biggest lead of the game. Dominic Friend hit a 3-pointer that gave the Colonels a 16-14 lead with 11:35 remaining in the first half and Iles added a jumper for an 18-14 advantage with 10:46 left.
The Lions tied the game at 25-25 on a free throw by
Brandon Fortenberry with 5:45 remaining before Sullivan gave the Lions the lead for good, 27-25, with a short jumper at the 5:02 mark.
Fred Hunter led Nicholls State with 21 points and seven rebounds while Anatoly Bose added 20 points. The Colonels shot 21-for-50 (42.0 percent) from the floor and were 7-for-17 from behind the 3-point arc.
Southeastern will return to Southland Conference action on Wednesday when it faces UT Arlington in a 7 p.m. contest at Texas Hall.
NICHOLLS STATE (7-17, 3-8 SLC)
Hunter 7-12 6-7 21; Bose 6-12 6-9 20; Iles 4-10 0-0 9; Friend 2-4 2-2 8; Franklin Jr. 1-5 0-0 3; Carter 1-2 0-0 2; Ayers 0-5 0-0 0; Martin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-50 14-18 63.
SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA (14-9, 6-4 SLC)
Hutchin 7-8 3-3 21; Sullivan 7-10 5-5 19; Jones 6-11 3-3 16; Patterson 2-4 2-2 7; Johnson 3-4 0-1 6; Marks 2-6 0-0 4; Fortenberry 1-3 1-2 3; Ndoumba 0-0 0-0 0; Burches 0-0 0-0 0; Tibbs 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-46 14-16 76.
Halftime – SLU 34, Nicholls State 32. 3-point goals - Nicholls State 7-17 (Bose 2-5; Friend 2-3; Hunter 1-2; Franklin Jr. 1-3; Iles 1-3; Ayers 0-1), SLU 6-11 (Hutchin 4-5; Jones 1-2; Patterson 1-2; Fortenberry 0-2). Fouled out - None. Rebounds - Nicholls State 24 (Hunter 7), SLU 25 (Sullivan 12). Assists - Nicholls State 9 (Iles 5), SLU 19 (Fortenberry 8). Total fouls - Nicholls State 17, SLU 19. Technical fouls - None. A – 749.
