Jan. 28, 2010
Final Stats
THIBODAUX - After the McNeese State Cowboys (7-12, 2-3 Southland Conference) put together a late 9-0 run to eliminate a six-point Colonel lead with six minutes left, the Nicholls State University men's basketball team rallied to a 63-61 win on Wednesday night to extend the Colonels home-court winning streak to eight games.
The Colonels, who have not lost in Stopher Gym since Feb. 7, 2009, were led by junior guard/forward Anatoly Bose. The Sydney, Australia native turned in his second straight double-double (his third of the season) by leading all scorers with 23 points and grabbing a team-high 11 rebounds.
Bose was accompanied by sophomore point guard Chris Iles, who picked up 15 points and three assists while shooting 3-for-5 from three-point range, and junior guard Kellan Carter, who led the Colonels' defensive effort with four of the team's eight steals.
The Colonels generated 15 Cowboy turnovers and took advantage of McNeese's 5-for-16 free throw shooting to pick up their eighth straight home win.
The Cowboys started hot, putting together an 8-0 run to open the contest. The eight-point lead would be the largest of the night for McNeese, however, as the Colonels battled back with an 11-2 run to take their first lead of the night. Bose hit two of his three three-pointers in that stretch, the second of which put Nicholls up 11-10 with 13:21 left in the first.
After shooting 12-for-24 (50.0%) from the floor as a team, the Colonels headed into the lockeroom with a 35-32 lead.
The Cowboys refused to go quietly, however, as the Colonels never got out in front by more than five until junior guard Kenny Franklin Jr. hit a jumper in the lane to give Nicholls a 56-50 lead with 6:10 left.
Unfortunately, the Colonels' largest lead since a seven-point margin with 1:38 left in the first half, wasn't enough to stop a Cowboy run.
McNeese scored nine unanswered points over the next 2:12. P.J. Alawoya put the Cowboys up 59-56 with 3:22 left.
Nicholls wasted no time in answering as junior forward Dominic Friend hit a runner in the lane on the next possession and was fouled by McNeese's Patrick Richard in the process. The Geelong, Australia native completed the three-point play by hitting the ensuing free throw to tie things up at 59-59 with 2:49 remaining.
After Richard hit a jumper in the lane on McNeese's next trip up the floor, Bose duplicated that feat with a jumper from the paint of his own to keep things tied at 61-61 with 1:16 left.
Diego Kapelan's jumper was no good on McNeese's next possession and the 5-11 Iles outbattled McNeese's 6-9 Elbryan Neal for the rebound.
On the other end, Bose drove the lane and drew a foul from Richard and hit both free throws to give Nicholls a 63-61 lead with 30 seconds remaining.
After Richard missed a layup and Bose grabbed the rebound on the next trip up the floor, Bose was fouled again.
With a chance to ice the game with eight seconds left, Bose missed both free throw attempts.
Fortunately, the Colonel defense had one last stop in it. After Bose's second foul shot missed, Richard began driving up the court with eight seconds left. After finding Alawoya on the wing inside the three-point line, the Colonel defense hounded the Alawoya into a travel, turning the ball over as time expired.
The Colonels will try for their ninth consecutive home win when they host in-state conference rival Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. in Stopher Gym.
