NATCHITOCHES, La. – The Nicholls State University men's basketball team was unable to keep pace with Northwestern State's second-ranked scoring offense, falling 80-51, on Monday night in Prather Coliseum.
 
The Colonels (5-12, 2-5 SLC) have struggled offensively all season, and those struggles continued against the Demons (10-9, 5-3 SLC) in Natchitoches.
 
Northwestern State was hot out of the gate as Zeek Woodley drilled a three-pointer to open up the scoring. After a Ja'Dante' Frye steal and fast-break layup at the 14-minute mark, the Colonels trailed by five points, but the Demons scored the next six, increasing their lead to 11. Nicholls responded, and after a dunk by JaMarkus Horace and two made free throws from Quinton Thomas, the Northwestern State advantage was cut to four with ten minutes remaining in the half. The Demons pushed back, amassing a 16-point lead heading into halftime.
 
Six minutes into the second period, Travis Julien connected on a layup to pull the Colonels within 12 points, but they would come no closer as Northwestern State ran away with the game over the final 15 minutes, leading by as many as 33 points.
 
Nicholls kept Northwestern State below its season average of 87 points per game, and held the nation's third-ranked scorer, Woodley, to just 13 points on 4-12 shooting. Despite those efforts, the Demons shot 52.7 percent from the floor and 42.9 percent from beyond the arc as a team.
 
For the second-straight game, poor shooting at the charity stripe plagued the Colonels, who went 9-21 at the free throw line, matching the percentage that Northwestern State shot from three-point range.
 
Turnovers were a key factor in the game, particularly in the first half, where Nicholls committed 14 turnovers compared to just three for the Demons. Northwestern State finished the game with more points in the paint (30-28), points off turnovers (26-17), fast break points (15-4), second chance points (17-13), bench points (30-19), rebounds (37-29), assists (19-8), blocks (4-2) and steals (10-4).
 
Overall, the Colonels shot 42.6 percent from the floor, but just 14.3 percent from three-point range, falling to last place in scoring offense in the Southland.
 
Frye finished with 11 points and four rebounds, while Liam Thomas earned 10 points and five rebounds to go along with two blocks. Richie Lewis and T.J. Carpenter each had two assists.
 
Ta'Jon Welcome led the Demons with team-highs in points (18) and rebounds (seven). Jalen West dished out a nine assists and grabbed three steals to lead the squad.
 
Nicholls will return home for a matchup with Incarnate Word at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday in Stopher Gym, before hosting New Orleans at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Both games will be broadcast live on KQKI 95.3 FM.
 
Visit geauxcolonels.com for live stats and the most up-to-date information on Nicholls men's basketball.