THIBODAUX, La. – Playing nearly the entire month of November on the road, the Nicholls men's basketball team will make its regular season home debut Monday taking on the 0-6 ULM Warhawks at Stopher Gym. The Colonels are looking to continue their winning ways at home, compiling an 11-2 home mark in 2010-11.
 
Last time out
For ten minutes, the Auburn Tigers thought they would be able to outrun the Nicholls men's basketball team last Friday night. Instead the Colonels kept the game close for much of the first half and got career nights from Chris Talkington, Shane Rillieux and Trevon Lewis, but the Tigers scored nearly 50 points in the paint and defeated the Colonels 78-57 in Auburn Arena. Talkington finished with a career-high 20 points in the game, followed by Trevon Lewis who finished with 15 points and team-best 12 rebounds for the first double-double of his career, and for the team this season. Rillieux scored a career-best 12 points to round out the Nicholls contingent who scored in double figures. A 10-4 run by Nicholls that spanned nearly three minutes made the score 27-20 Auburn, and for the next six minutes, the Colonels came within one of the Tigers as Nicholls outscored Auburn 12-6 to make the score 33-32 with 90 seconds left in the half. But a 6-0 run by Auburn to end the half gave the Tigers enough breathing room headed into the second. However, the Tigers went on an 18-9 run to start the second, pulling away from the Colonels as their up-tempo game extended their lead. After hitting only one of 14 three pointers in the first period, Auburn hit five in the second to finish 6-of-22 on the night.
 
Against the Warhawks
This game will be the first of a home-and-home season series against the Warhawks this year, as the Colonels will make the trip up to Monroe on Dec. 12. It's the first meeting between the two teams since the 2007-08 season, as Nicholls dropped ULM in Thibodaux 78-65. It's the 71^st meeting between the two former Southland Conference foes, with the Colonels-Warhawks matchup being the fourth longest series in team history. The Warhawks are led by Keith Richard who is in his second year at the helm after serving at Louisiana Tech. Richard is 2-0 against Nicholls in his career with both wins coming during his time in Ruston. The Warhawks are very similar to the Colonels as they have a roster loaded with freshmen and sophomores. Fred Brown and Charles Winborne lead the team in scoring averaging 15.7 and 11.0 points, respectively, while 6-10 center Fabio Ribeiro is pulling down an average of 4.8 boards per game. The Warhawks hold a 54-17 advantage in the series.
 
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.
 
Colonels tabbed for three TV games
The Nicholls State University men's basketball team will have three games televised this year featuring the Colonels taking on the Texas Longhorns, North Carolina Tar Heels and Northwestern State Demons the conference announced. The Colonels-Demons matchup on Feb. 29 is one of the 15 featured games for the Southland Conference Television Network schedule in 2011-12, and will include 10 regular-season tilts along with the men's and women's tournament semifinals and finals in March. Before conference, the Colonels' games against the Longhorns on Dec 13 will be televised on the new Longhorn Network, and clash with No. 1 North Carolina will be covered on ESPNU.
 
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, www.thibodauxonline.com
Live Stats: www.geauxcolonels.com