Nov. 22, 2009
Box Score
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Junior guard/forward Anatoly Bose, the leading scorer after the first two days of the Basketball Travelers World Vision Classic, turned in his third straight 20-point performance with 21 points on the final day of the tournament, and juior forward Maurice Foster added 14 points off the bench. However, it wasn't enough to overcome some big runs by Louisiana Tech as Nicholls State University men's basketball team (0-5) fell to the Bulldogs 77-45 on Sunday.
The Bulldogs started strong, opening with a 15-3 run over the first four minutes of the contest. After Bose hit a three to give the Colonels a 3-2 lead, La Tech responded with 13 unanswered points before Bose hit a pair of free throws to end a 4:25 scoring drought for Nicholls.
However, the Bulldogs kept up the pressure, going 4-for-4 from three point range in the first 6:30 of the opening half to increase their lead to 13 points and go up 20-7.
Refusing to go quietly, the Colonels put together a 13-4 run as the eight minute mark approached. JuFoster sparked the Colonels with 11 of his 14 points coming in that stretch. Meanwhile, junior forward Dominic Friend and Bose hit threes on consecutive possessions and Nicholls produced a pair of steals to slow down the Bulldog offense and bring the Colonels to within four at 24-20 with 8:45 left.
Nicholls closed to within three with just over three minutes left in the half as Bose hit his third three of the half and the Colonels stopped the Bulldogs on consecutive possessions to cut the deficit to 29-26. However, that was as close as Nicholls would get the rest of the day. After a layup and a 2-for-2 trip to the free throw line for Kyle Gibson put La Tech back up by six, the Bulldogs went into halftime with a 33-27 lead.
The Colonels struck first in the second half as redshirt freshman forward Phillip Ward laid it in to make it 33-29. However, La Tech responded with a 18-0 run to increase its lead to 51-29. The Colonels finally found the basket again at the 11:36 mark as Bose converted on a three pointer to end a 7:43 scoring drought for Nicholls.
However, La Tech kept up the pressure on offense and continued to pull away by outscoring Nicholls 17-11 over the next four minutes.
The Bulldogs shot 50.0 percent from the field as a team while connecting on eight of 16 three point attempts. Meanwhile, the Colonels, playing their fourth game in six days, managed to shoot just 33.3 percent from the field.
The Colonels will stay on the road, heading to the 2009 Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout. Nicholls will face the host Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves, a 2008 NCAA DII Final Four Team on Thursday. The Colonels will also face Washington State on Friday and either 2009 Elite Eight team Oklahoma, Houston or San Diego on Saturday to conclude a season-opening eight game road trip.
NOTES
Nicholls will be making its second appearance at the Great Alaska Shootout. The Colonels made their first appearance at the prestigious regular season tournament in 1980-81, Nicholls first season as an NCAA DI program. Nicholls first contest as a member of the top tier of the NCAA came against a Patrick Ewing lead Georgetown Hoyas squad. The Colonels lost 80-50 against the Hoyas and went 0-3 in their first trip to the Shootout.
