THIBODAUX, La. – After three games in three days, the Nicholls men's basketball team will only play one game this week, traveling to the plains of Auburn to take on the Tigers at 7 p.m. this Friday. Nicholls earned its first win of the year this past weekend, defeating future Southland Conference member Houston Baptist.  
 
Last time out
The Colonels faced a tough task playing games in three straight days in the Beryl Shipley Classic, but turned a lot of heads after some very solid play against quality opponents. The team gave Cal State Fullerton one of its toughest games in the tournament on Friday, before shooting lights out against the Huskies in the team's 80-70 win on Saturday. Without starters Ben Martin and Dantrell Thomas, who only played three minutes in the game against the Ragin' Cajuns, the Colonels still were able to give ULL all it could handle on Sunday.
 
Against the Tigers
This will be the fifth meeting all-time between the Colonels and Tigers, as Auburn holds a 3-1 advantage in the series. Dating back to the 1993-94 season, Nicholls defeated the Tigers in their first meeting 79-76. In their last meeting in 2006, the Colonels led Auburn for over 37 minutes thanks to a 27-point effort by Stefan Blaszcynski before the Tigers stormed back to force an overtime session, eventually pulling past Nicholls 92-87.
 
Talkington, Lewis named to Beryl Shipley All-Tournament Team
Sophomore Chris Talkington and Freshman Trevon Lewis were named to the 2011 Beryl Shipley Classic All-Tournament team after both averaged double-digit points over the three day tournament. Talkington averaged 17 points per game in the tournament and finished as the second leading scorer in the classic. Talkington was leading scorer in two of the three games for the Colonels. Against the Titans, Talkington scored the first eight points for Nicholls to start the game, had 14 of Nicholls' 35 points in the first half against the Huskies and was one rebound away from the first double-double of his career against the Ragin' Cajuns. Lewis was one of a handful of players to drop in more than 20 points in the classic, and his 21 points against the Huskies is the highest by a Nicholls player this year. Lewis made his first seven shots and did not have a miss until midway through the second period as he finished the game going 8-for-9 from the floor and a perfect 2-for-2 from behind the 3-point line. It is the second time this year he's come off the bench to be the leading scorer.
 
Three's the key
The Colonels have established themselves as one of the best three-point shooting teams in the league, sitting third in the Southland in percentage at .382 and second in three's made with 39. The Colonels have attempted over 100 already, and along with Texas State, has had two double-digit three point field goals made in games this season. The Colonels have the most with the 13 they made against LSU in the season opener. Chris Talkington is tied with the most three pointers made with 14 on the young season, and is third in average made per game with 2.8. Of the nine players that have hit four in a game this year, Talkington has done it twice, and is tied with Southeastern's Brandon Fortenberry for most. Trevon Lewis is second in 3-point field goal percentage hitting 62-percent from behind the arc.
 
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 the week of Nov. 14. Lewis is currently tied for ninth in the Southland Conference in scoring, averaging 13.6 points per game.
 
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 39th 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 28th 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.klrzfm.com
Live Stats: www.auburntigers.com