THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University men's basketball team will look to get its first wins of the season this weekend, as they take part in the 2011 Beryl Shipley Classic hosted by the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. It's the only holiday-style tournament the Colonels will play in this year, as the squad will square off with Cal State Fullerton, Houston Baptist and the host-Ragin Cajuns. Nicholls is coming off of its second-straight loss, dropping a 96-50 decision to Tulane this past Tuesday night in New Orleans.
 
Last time out
The Colonels surrendered 96 points for the second straight game this year against the Green Wave Tuesday night, and struggled getting any kind of offensive rhythm due to Tulane's quick defense. One bright spot was the play of redshirt sophomore Jeremy Smith who came off the bench and scored a team-high nine points in only 19 minutes of action. Smith set career highs in points, shots made and minutes.
 
Against the field
Nicholls will begin the tournament squaring off with the Cal State Fullerton Titans for the first time on the hardwood, while the Colonels will face the Cajuns and Huskies for the first time in over 20 years.
 
The last time Nicholls faced the Huskies, Saturday's opponent, was February 21, 1987, scratching out a 78-77 win in Thibodaux. The two teams played each other 18 times from 1969-87, with HBU holding an 11-7 advantage in the series history.
 
ULL will have a decidedly Southland Conference-esque feel to their team, as they are led by former Sam Houston State coach Bob Marlin. Marlin was at Sam for 12 years and earned three conference titles as the Bearkats coach, compiling a record of 225-131. The Colonels and Cajuns haven't faced one another since December 19, 1992, a 53-52 loss in Lafayette. This will be the 24^th meeting in team history, as ULL holds an 18-5 lead in the series.
 
Lewis leading the way
Freshman Trevon Lewis scored 19 points to lead all scorers against LSU in his first game as a Colonel. The Houma native hit his first six shots in the game and finished going 7-of-8 from the field and 2-of-2 from the behind the three point line. For his efforts he earned honorable mention in Southland Player of the Week voting. Missing its top two scorers from last year, the Colonels had three total players in double figures with Chris Talkington's 13 points and Lachlan Prest's 12.
 
Youth will be served
With the graduation of four seniors from last year's team, including 2011 Louisiana Player of the Year Anatoly Bose, the Colonels will rely on just one senior (Ben Martin) to lead this year's squad. There are a total of seven newcomers that dot the lineup, including four freshmen (Lachlan Prest, Sam McBeath, Shane Rillieux, Trevon Lewis), two transfers (Pedro Maciel, Linden Smith-Hyde) and one walk-on (Zach West). The only returning players with significant playing time are Bryan Hammond and Dantrell Thomas who each saw playing time in all 28 games last year.
 
Hunter to sit out season to rehab
Nicholls' second leading scorer from last year, Fred Hunter, will sit out the 2011-12 season while he continues to rehab after suffering a season-ending knee injury 20 games into the season. Averaging over 15 points per game, the Colonels will need a combined effort to make up for the loss of production.
 
Fourth time's the charm
With making the conference tournament for the third consecutive year in 2010-11, the Colonels will look to tie a school record making a fourth-straight trip to the postseason party. It's been done two more times in school history, with four appearances from 92-95, and again from 98-01.
 
Extended stay
In the offseason Nicholls Athletics signed J.P. Piper to a three-year extension, the first multi-year deal in program history. Entering his eighth season, it means that Piper will be only the third coach in team history to have a tenure that will last a decade. It would make him the second longest tenured coach in team history, with 11 years, just one shy of tying Don Landry and Rickey Broussard who each had 12. He also holds special company with those two coaches as he has had four-straight double-digit winning seasons. If he can add a fifth in 2011-12, he will tie the record with Broussard for the second most ever with five-in-a-row.
 
Southland releases 2011-12 conference polls
The Southland conference released its SID and coaches polls, and the Colonels are picked to finish fifth in one and sixth in the other. The Colonels are tied with Central Arkansas in the SID poll with 26 points, while the coaches placed the Colonels in the sixth spot with 22 points.
 
Martin named to College Sports Madness Preseason All-Conference Team
Redshirt senior Ben Martin was named to the 2011 CollegeSportsMadness.com Preseason All-Southland teams, earning a fourth team selection. The 6-1 guard started all 28 games for the Colonels last year, averaging 4.5 points in 29 minutes of action per game. He was a 31-percent shooter from the field and from beyond the arc.
 
No “Hand down, Man down”
Nicholls was one of the best defensive teams in the nation last year, holding opponents to just under 63 points per game. That number put them in the top-40 in the country and was the second best mark in the league. The 8.8 steals per game average was also the second best in the Southland and was ranked 39^th nationally, while having a positive turnover margin of 4.4 was the sixth best in the country.
 
Home is where the wins are
Since the 2008-09 season, the Stopher Gym has become a nearly impossible place to win for opponents, having a combined 31-6 record the last three years. In that time the team has had records of 11-2, 9-2 and 11-2 in the friendly confines, the first game in Stopher will be November 28^th against UL-Monroe.
 
TV:None
Radio: 100.3 FM KLRZ (Larose, La); 1600 KLEB (Golden Meadow, La.)
Broadcast Team: Mike Wagenheim (play-by-play)
Colonels on the Internet: www.klrz.com
Live Stats: www.ragincajuns.com