THIBODAUX, La. -- Kevin Johnson made a career-high 18 of 20 free throws and scored a career-high 33 points to lead Nicholls State to an 88-82 win over Sam Houston State on Saturday.

Andre Jones scored 18 points for Nicholls State (15-9, 9-4 Southland Conference) and Warith Alatishe added 15 points, making 7 of 10 from the line, grabbed 14 rebounds.

The game featured 53 fouls and 69 free throws. Nicholls State was 30 of 36 from the line and Sam Houston State 25 of 33.

The Colonels made 20 of 25 3-pointers and shot 50% from the field while the Bearkats have five 3s and shot 49%.

Zach Nutall scored a career-high 28 points for the Bearkats (15-9, 8-5).

The Colonels improve to 2-0 against the Bearkats on the season. Nicholls State defeated Sam Houston State 70-58 on Jan. 4. Nicholls State faces Lamar at home on Wednesday. Sam Houston State plays Southeastern Louisiana on the road on Wednesday.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com