Dec. 17, 2008

Box Score

BATON ROUGE, La. - The Colonels gave LSU a run for its money, but the Tigers used a 15-3 run to break a 49-49 stalemate and claim a 68-56 victory Wednesday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

LSU (8-0), who entered the game with the No. 1 field goal percentage defense in the nation, held the Colonels to just 33.3% (8-for-24) from the floor in the second half.

"I'm really, really proud of the effort we got out of our guys tonight," said Head Coach J.P. Piper. "We are proud that we have the potential to be a very good basketball team, having gone toe-to-toe with an SEC team for 30 minutes tonight - the game was tied with 10 minutes to go. We have a few things we need to clean up, but I'm really excited about where we are as a team."

But the Colonels managed 41.3% from the floor for the game, the best percentage of any team the Tigers have faced this season.

Nicholls (6-4) was led offensively by sophomore Anatoly Bose (Sydney, Australia/Waverley) and senior Ryan Bathie (Melton, Australia/Mowbray), who scored 14 and 13 points, respectively.

Bathie and senior Justin Payne (Opelousas, La./Opelousas) led the Colonels on the glass, pulling down three rebounds apiece.

The Colonels, ranked nationally in steals per game with an average of 10.1, grabbed 11 from LSU, paced by Payne and sophomore Kellan Carter (Fresno, Calif./Edison).

Nicholls gave the Tigers trouble through the first half, leading for much of the first 20 minutes thanks to seven LSU turnovers.

Behind 50.0% shooting (11-of-22) in the first half, Nicholls, who entered the game as the No. 7 team in the nation in field goal percentage, took a 30-27 lead to the locker room at the half. The Colonels were 6-of-12 (50.0%) from beyond the arc to open the game, while Hunter's 2-for-2 mark from the charity stripe allowed for a perfect 100.0% at the line.

Freshman Chris Iles (Houston, Texas/Alief Hastings) dished out four assists through the opening 20 minutes, while Bose and Bathie led offensive effort with nine and eight points, respectively.

Five-straight treys from the Colonels, including three in a row from the hands of Bose, gave the Colonels their largest lead of the game, 26-19, with just over two minutes to play.

Bose's three at the 7:39 mark put the Colonels on top 17-14, a lead they would not relinquish until the 15:18 mark of the second half.

The Colonels opened the second half on fire, scoring on their opening possession and forcing a Tiger turnover to extend the lead to 34-27 and force LSU to call a timeout.

For the first time this season, Nicholls got on the board first as Hunter's layup on the Colonels' first possession fell through for a 2-0 lead.

The Colonels will travel to Jackson, Miss. for a neutral-site game vs. Mississippi State Monday, Dec. 22 before breaking for the holidays.

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