THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University men's basketball team will close out its final stretch of non-conference games over the next week, and will get things started with a tough set of games beginning with ULM on Monday night before traveling to face the University of Texas on Tuesday. The Colonels look to avenge their early season 86-65 home loss to the Warhawks, while this will be the first meeting with the Longhorns since the 2006-07 season.
Last time out
The Nicholls men's basketball team shot a blazing 61.5-percent first half to build a 14-point lead at the break as the Colonels went on to snap their three game skid with a 92-76 victory over the Loyola Wolfpack on Friday night at the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center. The Colonels never trailed in the game and had six players score in double-figures led by
Bryan Hammond's game-high 20 and
Lachlan Prest's 18.
Against the Warhawks and Longhorns
The Warhawks hit 12 3-pointers and scored 50 points in the second half in their 86-65 win over Nicholls Nov. 28. ULM shot a season-high 62-percent from the floor against the Colonels, while holding Nicholls to just four free throws in the second half after going to the line ten times in the first half. ULM has not won since beating the Colonels in Thibodaux and is 1-8 on the year.
The Longhorns are 7-2 overall and have four players who average double-figures in scoring led by J'Covan Brown who is averaging 18.4 points per game. Texas is only giving up 64.8 points to their opponents on average, while getting 74.4 as a squad. This will only be the second meeting all time against Nicholls and UT, with Texas taking a 91-60 win over the Colonels in Austin Nov. 21, 2006.
Colonels field one of the most youthful teams in the nation
Coming into the season, the Colonels knew they would be tested in terms of knowing how to win, but this year might prove to be the toughest yet as Nicholls will field one of the least experienced teams in the country. With four true freshmen, and two junior transfers, among four other players who did not play in 2010-11, only St. John's matches the Colonels in freshness as the Red Storm lost seven players from last year's team and more than 95-percent of their overall production from a year ago. The Colonels and Red Storm each have ten players who will see time on the floor for the first time this year.
On the charts
Not only has C-Talk (
Chris Talkington) remained near the top of the conference offensively (sixth in points, third in free throw percentage, first in 3-pointers made, eighth in 3-point percentage), the sophomore is on the board nationally, ranking in the top 50 in the 3-point categories and top 100 in free throw percentage. His 2.9 threes per game average is 42
nd in the country, 45.5 3-point average is 39
th and 85.2 percent clip from the charity stripe is 100
th.
Sterling Performance
Heading into the game against the Warhawks,
Sterling Bailey had two points off of free throws in nine total minutes on the season. Against ULM the redshirt freshman set career highs in every major statistical category except for blocks and steals. In 19 minutes off of the bench Bailey shot an efficient 75-percent from the field and drained two of three 3-point attempts and was a perfect 2-of-2 at the free throw line.
Going the Distance
Shane Rillieux played all 40 minutes in the loss to the Warhawks, but in the process scored 12 points for the second straight game and dished out a season-best four assists.
Injuries mount
Already without
Fred Hunter for the entire season, the Colonels have dealt with a rash of injuries as of late, without the services of two starters in
Ben Martin and
Dantrell Thomas. Martin (back) has not played since the win over Houston Baptist in the ULL tournament, while Thomas has missed the last two games with a deep calf bruise sustained in his 17-point performance in the HBU win. Thomas only played six minutes against ULL the next day and has not returned to the lineup. The bug has also hit the reserves as well, affecting junior guard
Pedro Maciel who has been battling a knee injury. Maciel played in the Colonels' exhibition against Mobile but has been held out to recover.
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 in the top half in the Southland. 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. Of the nine players that have hit four in a game this year, Talkington has done it twice.
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 in the top ten in field goal percentage and scoring shooting 50-percent from the field and averaging 13.0 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.
Nicholls-ULM
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.ulmwarhawks.com
Nicholls-Texas
TV: Longhorn Network
Play by Play: Carter Blackburn
Analyst: Bruce Bowen
Sideline Reporter: Samantha Steele
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.texassports.com
