Furious Colonel Rally Comes Up Just Short Against Southland's Top Team

Feb. 10, 2010

THIBODAUX - Down by as many as 17 points, the Nicholls State University men's basketball team (7-16, 3-7 Southland Conference) rallied to take a one-point lead midway through the second half. However, it wouldn't be enough to hold off the Southland's top team as the Sam Houston State Bearkats (17-5, 9-0 Southland) stayed perfect in league play and extended the Colonels losing streak to four games as SHSU claimed the 75-69 win on Wednesday night in Stopher Gym.

The Bearkats came into the game having beaten their first eight league opponents by an average of 12.2 points per game. Meanwhile, Nicholls was looking to snap a three game skid and regain the form that saw the Colonels win six of eight from Dec. 3 through Jan. 16.

The contest started as a defensive struggle with a pair of Nicholls three pointers (one from junior forward Dominic Friend and one from junior guard/forward Anatoly Bose) providing the only scoring in the first 4:30.

However, the Bearkats soon showed why they are undefeated in league play by dominating the next ten minutes of action. Sam Houston State outscored the Colonels 29-6 from the 15:23 mark until there was 4:54 left in the opening half. When Corey Allmond hit a pair of free throws to make it 29-12, SHSU had a 17-point lead, their largest of the night.

But, Nicholls refused to go quietly as the Colonels closed the opening half strong. The Colonels outscored the Bearkats 13-5 over the final 4:27 to cut the deficit to nine at the half. Junior guard Kenny Franklin Jr. capped the run with a floater in the lane with two seconds left to make it 34-25 heading into the lockerroom.

Nicholls continued to grind away at the start of the second half. After the Bearkats briefly pushed their lead back up to 14, on an Antuan Bootle layup that made 39-25 with 18:27 to go, the Colonels went on a 16-5 run to cut the SHSU lead to two. As Friend layed it in from the paint in traffic, the Colonels found themselves down 43-41 with 12:41 left.

The Colonels were neck-and-neck with the Bearkats the rest of the way. With Bearkat big man Gilberto Clavell on the bench for most of the second half in foul trouble, sophomore guard/forward Fred Hunter started taking over on the interior.

The Denton, Texas native scored 19 of his game-high 26 points in the second half. On the night, Hunter shot 7-for-13 from the field and converted on 12-of-19 free throw attempts to help keep the Colonels in the game.

Down 62-59 with 5:16 left, Hunter scored the Colonels' final nine points to keep Nicholls in the game. However, even after Hunter tied things up on a layup in the paint to make it 66-66 with 2:38 remaining, the Bearkats refused to wilt.

SHSU matched the Colonels shot-for-shot down the stretch, until Nicholls was forced to foul. After Hunter hit a pair of free throws with 58 seconds remaining to make it 71-69, the Bearkats began killing off the clock. Nicholls was forced to foul two more times and SHSU converted on their final four free throw attempts to put the 75-69 decision on ice.

The Colonels will try to stop their losing streak at four games when they visit in state conference rival Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday.