Stephen F. Austin leads Nicholls all the way in 78-66 win

Mar 10, 2018, 04:14 am

KATY, Texas -- Shannon Bogues scored 27 points and T.J. Holyfield had a double-double and No. 3 seed Stephen F. Austin beat Nicholls 78-66 Friday night to head to the Southland Conference Tournament championship game.

Stephen F. Austin (27-6) faces top-seed Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday.

Lafayette Rutledge started the game with a 3-pointer before Ty Charles made a pair of 3s and Stephen F. Austin led the rest of the way. Kevon Harris' 3-pointer with 11:12 before halftime capped an 8-0 run that made it 19-7. The Colonels missed 12 shots -- including four on one possession -- as they went almost six minutes without scoring.

Bogues made a layup and a dunk for 55-37 lead, but Nicholls erupted with a 17-4 run and trailed by five on Kevin Johnson's 3; part of a 9-0 run which started with Rutledge's 4-point play. The Lumberjacks ended the flurry with a 9-2 run of their own and weren't challenged again.

Charles scored 17 and Holyfield scored 11 with 11 rebounds.

Roddy Peters led second-seeded Nicholls (21-11) with 26 points and 12 rebounds and Rutledge scored 24.