Thibodaux, La. – Despite Jalin Hart and Simi Socks combining for 45 points, Nicholls' guard DeAndre Harris scored a Southland Conference game-high 42 points as the Colonels defeated UIW, 94-84, Saturday afternoon from Stopher Gym in the SLC opener for both teams.

HOW IT HAPPENED

It was the Harris show in the first half, as the Nicholls star scored a game-high 26 points in only 18 minutes of action in the first half, going 8-for-14 from the floor, 3-for-5 from beyond the arc, and 7-for-8 from the charity stripe.

Nicholls started the game scoring the first eight points and eventually leading the Cardinals, 11-3, after Harris' triple answered Sam Burmeister's long ball.

Trailing 27-19 with 8:41 left in the opening half, UIW used a 9-0 run to take its first lead of the game, 28-27, as Miles Banks had a pair of rebounds, a layup, and a steal in the run. Shawn Johnson's trey put the Cardinals up by one with 6:10 left in the half, forcing the Colonels to call a timeout.

A pair of Socks free throws followed by another Burmeister three-pointer gave UIW a six-point advantage, 33-27, but Harris answered with a triple of his own en route to an 18-8 Nicholls run to close the half leading UIW, 45-41.

UIW trailed the entire second half, but battled back, turning a 17-point deficit to four, as Burmeister's corner trey culminated a 9-1 run in a span of two-and-a-half minutes, as Johnson joined Burmeister with shooting the long ball. UIW trailed only 84-80, but, despite Johnson's third triple of the second half, Nicholls closed the game outscoring the Cardinals, 10-4.

LEADERS

UIW (5-7 overall, 0-1 SLC) had four players in double figures, led by Hart's 23 and Socks' 22. Johnson started the game slow, but heated up in the second half, eventually ending with 17 points. Burmeister finished with 12 points, as he and Johnson combined to hit seven 3-pointers.

Harris scored a Southland Conference single-game high of 42 points to pace the Colonel (8-6 overall, 1-0 SLC) offense, besting his own record of 35 set three days ago against Spring Hill College. In two games this week, Harris has scored 77 points. The 42 points were the most in a single game in the SLC since Lamar's Mike James scored 52 against Louisiana College in 2011, and the most in a conference game since Texas State's J.B. Conley dropped 42 against Northwestern State in 2010. Ja'Dante Fry also had a strong game with 23 points. As a team, the Colonels registered 12 blocked shots.

UP NEXT

UIW concludes the road trip with a visit to Southeastern Louisiana on Monday, Jan. 2 at 2 p.m.

STAY TUNED

The Cardinals play their SLC home opener on Thursday, Jan. 5 at 7:30 p.m. versus Northwestern State in a "Red Out" game.

For the most up-to-date information on UIW Athletics visit uiwcardinals.com. Be sure to follow UIW Athletics on Twitter @UIWAthletics and like UIW Athletics on Facebook at UIW Athletics.