Dec. 13, 2008

Box Score

BATON ROUGE, La. - The Colonels used a strong second half and impressive three-point shooting from sophomore forward Anatoly Bose (Sydney, Australia/Waverley) to claim a 64-58 win over Southern Saturday afternoon, sweeping the Jaguars on the season.

With the win, Nicholls improves to 5-3 on the season, stretching their winning streak to four games.

"It was a frustrating game to coach because I felt like we never quite got clicking on all cylinders together," said Head Coach J.P. Piper. "We couldn't put together significant stretches of consistent basketball, but as frustrating as it was, I love the way we fought and dug ourselves out of those binds and found a way to get back on top."

Bose went 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, pouring in 16 points, 14 of which came in the second half, and pulling down five rebounds.

Freshman guard Fred Hunter (Denton, Texas/Denton) also reached double-figures for Nicholls, netting 14 on the day and was the Colonels' leading rebounder with seven.

Following the first media break of the second half, the Colonels found their spark, using a 13-0 run that included back-to-back treys from Bose to take a 48-38 advantage and swing momentum in their direction.

The Colonels forced six Jaguar turnovers through the five-minute span, part of 27 total points off of 20 Southern turnovers in the game.

"Ultimately, when it had to happen," Piper noted, "we found a way to dig it out and win on the road. Winning on the road early in the year is always tough, so this is a big step for us. Hopefully next time we can be a little more smooth and a little more efficient in getting that done."

Back-to-back threes from freshman Kyle Ford (Whitehouse, Texas/Whitehouse) and Bose put the Colonels up 28-25 for a late lead in the first half, but Southern scored four straight in the last minute of the opening half, taking a 29-28 lead to the locker room at halftime.

Hunter led all players through the opening 20 minutes, pouring in eight and grabbing a team-best four rebounds.

Nicholls shot 45.5% (10-for-22) from the floor to the Jaguars' 52.4% (11-for-21) through the opening stanza, though the Colonels improved to 52.0% shooting (13-for-25) in the second half

The Colonels will play their final home game of 2008 Monday evening, taking on Dillard at Harang Auditorium. That game will tip 30 minutes following the conclusion of the 5 p.m. women's basketball game vs. Alcorn State.

For ticket information, please contact the Colonel ticket office at (985) 448-4790.

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