Feb. 7, 2009

Box Score

THIBODAUX, La. - Senior Justin Payne (Opelousas, La./Opelousas) hit a pair of free throws with 17 seconds left on the clock to put the Colonels up 68-67, but Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's Kevin Palmer nailed two of his own at the three second mark to give the Islanders a 69-68 victory over Nicholls Saturday afternoon in Southland Conference men's basketball action.

Nicholls (13-9, 7-2 SLC) outscored TAMUCC 35-34 in the second half, but a two-point halftime deficit (35-33)was too much for the Colonels to overcome.

"I told the guys that I was thrilled with their effort, their intensity and their passion today out on the floor," said Head Coach J.P. Piper. "They have nothing to be discouraged about. That effort will get you a win more often than it gets you a loss and I think we proved that we belong with the best in the Southland Conference. It was a war. I couldn't be prouder of our guys."

Freshman Fred Hunter (Denton, Texas/Denton) led all scorers with 23 - his fifth 20+ point game of the season - knocking down 8-of-10 from the floor and 7-of-9 from the charity stripe.

The Islanders shot 83.3% (15-of-18) from the line for the game, including a 10-for-12 second-half performance, to the Colonels' 69.6% (16-of-23).

"We missed a couple of layups under the four-minute mark and we need to be a little more efficient at the free-throw line," Piper noted. "We held them to two offensive rebounds in the first half and they finished the game with nine, so there are a few things that we need to clean up."

Sophomore Anatoly Bose (Sydney, Australia/Waverley) and senior Ryan Bathie (Melton, Australia/Mowbray) joined Hunter in double figures, pouring in 15 and 13, respectively, while Bose dished out a game-high four assists.

Entering the game as the No. 28 player in the country in steals per game with 2.3, sophomore Kellan Carter (Fresno, Calif./Edison) grabbed three steals, as did Payne. Carter was the Colonels' leader on the glass, pulling down six boards, all on the offensive end.

Sophomore Dominic Friend (Geelong, Australia/St. Joseph's) was second on the squad with three assists.

Corpus Christi made small runs to keep Nicholls at bay through the opening 20 minutes, but the Colonels would not stay down - knotting the game at 14 (12:26), 22 (9:12) and 30 (2:33). Nicholls held a 33-32 lead with just over a minute to go in the first half, but a three pointer by TAMUCC's Tim Green sent the squads to the locker room with the score 35-33 in favor of the Islanders.

The Islanders took advatage of 33 points off the bench to Nicholls' six en route to the win, posting four players in double figures.

Nicholls returns to action Wednesday, traveling to Sam Houston State for a 7 p.m. tip-off with the Bearkats.

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