COMMERCE – A 12-2 run to end Thursday night's game by the Nicholls Colonels stunned the Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team, who fell 66-63, to the Colonels in the Field House.
 
After a 2-2 tie to start the game, the game was not tied again until a three-pointer by Nicholls' Caleb Huffman with 59 seconds left in the game tied the game at 63 and a three-pointer by Latrell Jones with 35 seconds left gave the Colonels their first lead of the game, which it held to move to 2-0 in Southland Conference play and 7-7 overall.
 
The Lions had a lead as big as 17 in the game but scored just four points in the final five minutes of the game and had two possessions to try and tie the game following the three-pointer by Jones but could not come up with the game-tying bucket. A&M-Commerce falls to 5-11 on the season and 1-1 in conference play.
 
Demarcus Demonia (Fort Washington, Md.) scored 19 points as well as six rebounds, two assists, and two steals. He is now averaging 15.9 points per game, which is second in the conference. Tommie Lewis (Vero Beach, Fla.) scored 14 points, while also leading the team with seven rebounds and recorded two steals as well.
 
All but one Lion that appeared in the game scored at least two points. Luka Vasic (Pirot, Serbia) scored eight and grabbed three rebounds, while both Alex Peavy (San Antonio – Smithson Valley) and Kalen Williams (Augusta, Ga.) scored seven each. Williams and Peavy dished out four assists each as well, which was tied for the team lead and Williams grabbed six rebounds, while Peavy blocked two shots.
 
Off the bench, JJ Romer Rosario (Hialeah Gardens, Fla.) and Khaliq Abdul-Mateen (Cy-Lakes) scored three points each and Alonzo Dodd (St. Paul, Minn.) scored two points and dished out four assists.
 
Huffman scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Colonels, who also received 12 points from Pierce Spencer and 13 from Jones. This is the first victory for Nicholls in the four-game series against A&M-Commerce, though Thursday night was the first meeting between the two teams since 1966 and they meet again in Thibodaux, Louisiana, on February 2.

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The Lions look to bounce-back on Saturday at McNeese, the site of this year's Southland Conference Tournament. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m. in Lake Charles, Louisiana.