Feb. 25, 2009

Box Score

CONWAY, Ark. - Sophomore Anatoly Bose (Sydney, Australia/Waverley) sank a pair of free throws with less than 10 seconds remaining to give the Colonels a 60-58 win over Central Arkansas Wednesday night at the Farris Center. With the win, the Colonels clinch a spot in the 2009 Southland Conference Tournament.

The Colonels (16-10, 9-4 SLC) forced 22 turnovers by the Bears, grabbing 13 steals in the win.

"I told myself before the game that it was probably going to be this type of game, in that it was more important for me to be a cheerleader than a coach and that we just needed to squeeze as much effort and energy out of our guys as possible." said Head Coach J.P. Piper. "I knew it would be ugly, but our guys just needed to be encouraged no matter how frustrated we, as coaches, got tonight."

Leading Nicholls was sophomore Kellan Carter (Fresno, Calif./Edison), who grabbed a career-high seven steals, also knocking down two blocks.

Bose led all scorers with 20 points as he went 7-of-11 from the floor and was tied with a team-leading four rebounds. Senior Ryan Bathie (Melton, Australia/Mowbray) also reached double figures, pouring in 11 points and adding four rebounds.

The Colonels shot 61.9% (13-of-21) from the floor in the second half for 51.3% in the game, while holding UCA to just 36.6% all night.

Nicholls took its first lead of the game, 35-33, on a layup by Carter at the 11:02 mark of the second half. Sophomores Dominic Friend (Geelong, Australia/St. Joseph's) and Bose each drained a three to build to a 43-36 Colonel lead with just under nine minutes remaining.

The Colonels fell behind early as Central Arkansas led by as many as seven through the opening minutes, but 11-straight points from Bose and Hunter helped the Colonels reach a 21-21 tie. The Bears would close out the half with a a 4-0 run, sending Nicholls to the locker room down 25-21.

"We got clobbered on the boards and they went to the free throw line way to many times," Piper added, "yet when we needed to make a run there in the second half, we found a way to string together some baskets and some stops and were lucky enough to hold on down the stretch."

Bose reached double digits early, pouring in 11 first-half points, and was Nicholls' leader on the glass with three rebounds through the opening 20 minutes.

Nicholls sank just one bucket from beyond the arc in the first half, shooting 20.0% (1-for-5) and was 7-for-18 (38.9%) from the floor.

The Colonels return to action Saturday at 2 p.m., hosting McNeese State in Stopher Gym. The game will be broadcast live on the Southland Conference TV Network.

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