Final Stats Box Score and Play-by-Play

NATCHITOCHES, La. -  Down by 13 with just over eight minutes left in the game, the Nicholls State Universtiy men's basketball team (7-6, 1-1 Southland Conference) rallied to pull to within two, but the Colonels couldn't get over the hump as Northwestern State (9-8, 1-1 Southland Conference) held on for the win.

Senior forward Anatoly Bose scored a game-high 27 points, and junior guard/forward Fred Hunter added 11, but it wasn't enough to help the Nicholls State University men's basketball team (7-6, 1-1 Southland Conference) overcome a Northwestern State (9-8, 1-1 Southland Conference) offense that produced five double-digit scorers en route to a 73-64 final in favor of the Demons in Nathitoches, La. on Wednesday night.

The Demons up-tempo attack started strong by opening the first half with a 19-7 run to take a 12-point lead at the 10:42 mark of the first half.  However, Nicholls' grinding attack soon began to slow the Demons down and allowed the Colonels to get back into the ballgame.

Nicholls went on a 12-3 run to pull to within three.  Bose, who went 6-for-8 from the free throw line, connected on a pair of free throw attempts at the 6:46 mark to cut the Demon lead to 22-19.  The rest of the first half proved to be a back-and-forth affair as Northwestern State pushed their lead back up to ten with just over three minutes left before a Nicholls rally cut the advantage to 35-28 at the half.

The Colonels picked up where they left off to start the second half, as Nicholls opened with a 7-0 run.   A layup by Hunter at the 17:17 mark capped the run and made it 35-35.  Meanwhile, Bose got hot from three-point range in the second half, draining three three pointers en roue to a 5-for-11 night from beyond the arc.  Of Bose's 27 points, 18 came from three point range and 17 came in the second half.

The Demons answered with an 22-8 run to push the lead up to 13, the largest of the night.  However, the Colonels refused to go quietly.  Now down 56-43 with 8:15 left, Nicholls put together a run of its own.  The Colonels went on a 9-0 tear over the next four minutes to reduce the Demon lead to two.  Bose capped the run with his fifth and final three-pointer of the night to make it 56-54 in favor of the Demons with 4:05 left.

Unfortunately, Northwestern State had one more big run left in them, pushing the lead back into double digits thanks to an 11-4 run that made it 67-57 in favor of the Demons with one minute left.  Nicholls tried to battle back, but the Demons held on for the 73-64 victory.

The Colonels will return to aciton on Saturday when they visit the defending Southland Conference regular season and tournament champion Sam Houston State Bearkats.  Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. in Huntsville, Texas.  The game will be broadcast on the Southland Conference Television Network.  Fans can find broadcast information or tune into the free live video stream of the game by logging onto www.southland.org.