Feb. 14, 2008

Box Score

THIBODAUX, La. - Both teams struggled from the floor and behind the arc, but Texas A&M-Corpus Christi was able to dominate on the glass and in the process squeak by Nicholls in another close game, 50-47, on Thursday night in Stopher Gym.

In the closing two minutes of the game, true freshman Anatoly Bose tied it up at 46 apiece at the 1:46 mark with a jumper in the lane, and with 41 seconds left, junior Justin Payne made one-of-two free throw attempts to give the Colonels the 47-46 lead.

However, with 29 ticks left on the clock, reigning Southland Conference Player of the Year Chris Daniels stepped behind the arc and drained his only three-point attempt of the game from the top of the key to give the Islanders (7-15, 4-5) the 49-47 lead. With the shot clock turned off on the ensuing possession, junior Ryan Bathie missed a jumper with eight seconds left, and Nicholls was forced to foul.

The Islanders' Filip Toncinic toed the line and only made one-of-two free throws, which gave the Colonels a chance at tying the contest at 50 apiece with a three-ball. But, a steal by TAMUCC with one second left ensured a Texas A&M-Corpus Christi victory.

"I thought that the guys played hard and tough on both ends of the floor tonight. They played their guts out," said head coach J.P. Piper. "It just seemed like no matter what we did, the ball would find a way out of the rim."

The Colonels (7-18, 2-8) had only two players in double-digits in the loss with senior Adonis Gray and Bose each tallying 10 while the Islanders had only player cross the decade mark with Daniels scoring a game best 19. Daniels was a rebound shy of having a double-double.

As a team, Nicholls shot 25.0 percent (12-of-48) from the floor for the game while only connecting on 15.4 percent (4-of-26) from three-point territory. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi was not that much better as they shot 31.8 percent (14-of-44) from field goal range and 23.5 percent (4-of-17) from downtown.

The Colonels did force 26 turnovers, which was two shy of their season best, and scored 21 points off of the Islanders' miscues, but Nicholls was out rebounded 47-to-27 and allowed TAMUCC to record 16 offensive rebounds that they scored 16 points off of.

Nicholls will be back in action this Saturday against Texas-San Antonio at 5 p.m. Before the game and during halftime, Nicholls will honor the 10-year anniversary of the 1998 SLC Championship team. Members of the team and hall of fame coach Rickey Broussard will be on hand for the celebration.

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