March 12, 2009
Box Score
KATY, Texas -
In front of a rowdy crowd of Colonel fans, No. 2 seed Nicholls used a strong second-half performance to claim an 80-75 win over No. 7 seed Texas State in the opening round of the 2009 State Farm Southland Conference Tournament Thursday afternoon at the Merrell Center.
The win is the Colonels' first in the post-season since 1998, helping the squad earn its 20th win of the season as Nicholls improves to 20-10 (12-4 SLC). Texas State, who is eliminated from competition, finishes the year at 14-16 (7-9 SLC).
Freshman Chris Iles (Houston, Texas/Alief Hastings) knocked down a jumper in the paint with 10:21 to go in the game, giving the Colonels their first lead (52-51) since the opening minutes of the first half.
Nicholls and Texas State then traded buckets back and forth until sophomore Anatoly Bose (Sydney, Australia/Waverley) drained a three from the right side and added two more from the free-throw line to put the Colonels up by four. Senior Ryan Bathie (Melton, Australia/Mowbray) drove in a fast-break layup and was fouled, giving the Colonels a 62-55 advantage, their largest of the game to that point, with just under seven minutes remaining.
"Both teams wanted to challenge the defense and attack," said Head Coach J.P. Piper. "It became a free-throw shooting contest and we're a free-throw shooting team. We scored 35 points at the line and while that wasn't necessarily the plan going in, it worked. We knew that we weren't going to be able to shoot threes all day and knew that we needed to attack the basket, so I'm pleased with the way we took care of the ball."
Bathie led Nicholls with 20 points, his sixth 20+ point game of the season, adding three assists and two steals to his line.
Also in double figures was Bose who poured in 20 and was Nicholls' leader on the glass with eight rebounds.
Iles and senior Justin Payne (Opelousas, La./Opelousas) finished with 10 apiece. Payne dished out a game-high four assists and recorded two steals.
The Colonels started the second half on fire as Bathie laid one in and sank two from three-point land, helping trim the Bobcat lead to three (41-38).
After trailing by eight at the half, Nicholls outscored Texas State 54-41 in the second half, shooting 61.9% in the final 20 minutes of play
Freshman Fred Hunter (Denton, Texas/Denton) put in a pair of layups and senior Justin Payne (Opelousas, La./Opelousas) added an old-fashioned three-point play to pull the Colonels within one of the lead, before Texas State used a 5-0 run to pull ahead by six (51-45) with under 15 minutes left to play.
Nicholls sealed the deal with 14 free throws in the closing minutes, stretching the lead to six (79-73).
Bose reached double digits in the first half, pouring in his 10th point with a jumper in the paint at the 51 second mark.
Nicholls opened the game with a layup by Kellan Carter (Fresno, Calif./Edison) to take a quick 2-0 lead, but Texas State fired back, taking the lead and never letting go as the teams went to the locker rooms with the Bobcats on top 34-26.
"The first 20 minutes had me a little concerned," Piper noted. "We went in at halftime and really talked more about what was going on in their minds than anything having to do with X's and O's. And to their credit, just like they've done all year, they responded and went out and played the second half. That 20 minutes of basketball looked more like what we're used to seeing. I think we beat a very good team today and I'm thrilled to get the win."
Neither team shot well through the opening half, though the Colonels sank just seven of the 20 shots they attempted for a 35.0% field-goal percentage. Nicholls was just 1-of-10 from beyond the arc in the first half.
Nicholls was perfect from the line to open the game, sinking 11-of-11 in the first half as Bathie, Bose and freshman Chris Iles (Houston, Texas/Alief Hastings) each made successful trips to the charity stripe.
The Colonels held the rebounding advantage with 18 in the first 20 minutes of play, but turned the ball over 10 times.
Nicholls will face the winner of No. 3 Sam Houston State vs. No. 6 UTSA Friday evening at 6:05 p.m.
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