Final Stats Box Score and Play-by-Play

THIBODAUX - The Nicholls State University men's basketball team (7-5) used a swarming defense to score 32 points off of 31 Texas-Arlington turnovers (6-7), and three Colonels scored in double figures to lead Nicholls to a 66-48 victory in the Southland Conference opener for both teams.

The Mavericks outshot the Colonels 62.1 percent (18-for-29) to 54.5 percent (24-for-44), while also claiming a 22-19 rebounding average.  However, Nicholls limited UTA's chances by picking off nine steals and forcing the Mavs into 31 turnovers, 20 of which came in the first half.  Senior guard Kellan Carter led the Colonels defensive efforts with three steals.

On the offensive end, Nicholls was led by a trio of double digit scorers as senior forward Anatoly Bose turned in a game-high 22 points on 8-for-15 shooting.  It was a return to form for Bose, who scored just six points in his last outing at No. 16 Texas A&M, marking his first sub-15 point performance of the season.

Joining Bose was junior guard/forward Fred Hunter who added 18 points by going 7-for-11 from the field, and Carter, the Colonels' defensive specialist who turned in a career-high 12 points by going 4-for-4 from the floor and hitting four free throws.

Nicholls never trailed, and there was only one tie score as the Colonels opened the first half strong with a 16-4 run to take a 12-point lead on a Fred Hunter offensive rebound and layup at the 12:58 mark of the first.  The Mavericks tried to mount a comeback, but could not get any closer than eight points the rest of the half.

After UTA made it a 16-8 ballgame in favor of the Colonels at the 11:46 mark, the Colonels began to steadily pull away.  Nicholls closed out the half by going on a 16-9 run over the final 11 minutes to take a 32-17 lead into the lockerroom at halftime.

The second half brought more of the same as Nicholls continued to steadily pull farther in front.  A three-pointer by Bose at the 11:37 mark gave the Colonels a 49-28 advantage and their largest lead of the day at 21 points.  Nicholls wouldn't let the Mavericks get any closer than 15 points the rest of the way.

The Colonels will now embark on their first road trip of the Southland Conference season with visits to Northwestern State (Jan. 12) and Sam Houston State (Jan. 15) before returning home to host Central Arkansas on Jan. 19.