Feb. 23, 2008

Box Score

HAMMOND, La. - Nicholls outscored Southeastern La. 10-2 over the last two minutes, but their late game come back efforts fell short as they fell 54-52 to the Lions in the University Center on Saturday afternoon.

The Colonels put together a 36-point second half while limiting the Lions to just 21-points. SELA's Kevyn Green gave Nicholls new life with 2:00 minutes left as he fouled out and was called for a technical, which ultimately resulted in a four-point swing after true freshman Anatoly Bose and senior Adonis Gray made both of their free throws to make the score 52-44.

With time winding down, Nicholls was forced to foul and the Lions' Dekyron Nicks made both his free throws to extend the lead 54-49 with 32.2 left in the game. Nicholls then went down and tried to get the quick bucket, but SELA's Patrick Sullivan rejected junior Justin Payne's shot which left the Colonels with minimal time to come back. Payne did however score the game's final three-points as he nailed one from behind the arc as time expired to make the final score 54-52.

"I was really proud of the effort in the second half. We challenged them at halftime to play better in the second half and they did," said head coach J.P. Piper.

"We never stopped challenging the rim in the second half. The team showed in the second half that they want to be champions, and that they want to win," said Piper.

The Colonels went on a 20-6 tear over the first 11:15 of the final period. Putting in big minutes for Nicholls over that span was junior Ryan Bathie who scored 10-points during the scurry. However, the Lions showed that they were still alive as they went on a quick 6-0 run of their own to recapture a 10-point lead, 48-40, at the 4:45 mark.

For the game, Nicholls had four players in double-figures with Bose leading the way with 13. Bathie, Payne and Gray each contributed 12 points in the loss. Leading the Lions in scoring was Nicks with 13 followed by Green with 11.

Southeastern La. (14-11, 6-6) started the game off on a 9-0 run that lasted over the first 3:25 of the contest before Bose hit a runner in the lane to put Nicholls on the board at the 16:18 mark of the first half. Despite a rally by the Colonels, the Lions extended their lead to as many as 17-points, 28-11, at the 4:35 mark courtesy of a Green three-ball from the top of the key.

Nicholls (7-20, 2-10) trailed at halftime, 33-16, due in part to an 18.2 percent (4-of-22) shooting performance from the floor while compiling a 0-for-7 showing from downtown in the first half. The Lions were hot in the first half as they shot 54.5 percent (12-of-22) from field goal range and 33.3 percent (3-of-9) from three-point territory. Leading all scorers at the midway point was SELA's Green with 11 points as he was responsible for all the Lions' points from behind the arc. Headlining the Colonels at the half was Payne with seven points.

The Colonels had 12 turnovers after the first 20 minutes was in the books to go along with no assists while the Lions had 10 turnovers to their six assists.

Nicholls will be back in action in Stopher Gym against Northwestern State (12-14, 8-4) on Thursday Feb. 28 at 6:30 p.m. The Demons are currently in second place in the SLC East.

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