THIBODAUX -  The Nicholls State University men's basketball team (11-11, 5-6 Southland Conference) will look to snap a two-game losing streak and gain ground in a crowded Southland Conference Tournament race when the Colonels host Texas-San Antonio (13-11, 6-5 Southland Conference) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Stopher Gym.

With just five regular season games left on the schedule, the Southland Conference remains one of the tightest races in the country.  The top ten teams in the league are separated by just 3.0 games.  Texas State owns the overall lead with an 8-3 league record.  The Bobcats are followed by McNeese State and Northwestern State who are 1.0 game back with 7-4 league marks.  After the Cowboys and Demons, a five-team logjam is tied for the fifth spot with Southeastern La., Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston State, UTSA and Texas-Arlington 2.0 games back with identical 6-5 Southland records.  The Colonels and Lamar are tied for ninth with 5-6 league marks, leaving Nicholls and the Cardinals 1.0 game out of the final Southland Conference Tournament spot, but just 3.0 games behind the Bobcats for the No. 1 seed to the tournament.

The Colonels will look to rebound after dropping each of their last two contests following a season-ending injury to junior guard/forward Fred Hunter.  The Denton, Texas native was the Colonels leading rebounder, averaging 6.3 boards per night, and ranked 19th in the nation with a .578 shooting percentage before suffering a knee injury in practice on Feb. 8.

Fortunately, for Nicholls, the Colonels can continue to rely on one of the most consistent scoring threats in the nation in the form of senior forward Anatoly Bose.  The Sydney, Australia native enters the weekend ranked ninth in the nation and first in the Southland Conference with a 21.7 point/game average. 

Bose, who owns a school-record 44 20-point games, including 17 20-point games in 22 contests this year, needs just eight more points to take over sole possession of third place on the Nicholls' career scoring list; passing Johnny Hall's career total of 1,916 points from 1976-80.  Bose needs 91 more points to reach the 2,000 career point plateau, making him just the third Colonel in school history to surpass the 2,000 career point mark, joining former Nicholls All-American and leading scorer Larry Wilson (2,569 points from 1975-79) and the school's leading NCAA Division I scorer Reggie Jackson (2,124 points from 1991-95).

On the defensive end, the Colonels continue to boast one of the best defenses in the country.  Nicholls limits opponents to 62.1 points/game, the 40th best scoring average in the country and second best mark in the Southland Conference.  The Colonels also own a +5.50 turnover margin that leads the conference and ranks fifth in the country, and an 8.5 steal/game average that ranks second in the league and 26th in the country.

The Nicholls defensive efforts are led by senior guard Kellan Carter, who ranks fourth in the conference with a 1.7 steal/game average; senior point guard Kenny Franklin Jr. who boasts a 2.52 assist/turnover ratio that ranks 25th in the country; and junior guard Ben Martin, who has racked up 27 steals and 33 assists while recording just 13 turnovers on the year.

However, the Colonels will have their hands full with a Texas-San Antonio team that has won 14 of its last 15 games against Nicholls.  The Colonels will be looking for their first home-court victory over the Roadrunners since the 2000-01 season.

Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m. in Stopher Gym.  The game can be heard in the New Orleans-Houma-Thibodaux area on the Colonel Sports Radio Network, including flagship station KLRZ 100.3 FM and KLEB 1600 AM.  A link to a free live audio stream will be provided on the men's basketball schedule page of www.geauxcolonels.com.

The contest will serve as a reunion of the 1971-72 nationally ranked men's basketball team that earned the first postseason touranment appearance in school history.  Members of the 1971-72 team will be honored in a halftime ceremony.

In honor of American Heart Health Month, Thibodaux Regional Medical Center will serve as the official gameday sponsors with members of the hospital staff providing free blood pressure screenings and information for healthy heart tips to fans in attendance.

Following the contest, the Colonels will hit the road to take on Southland East Division rivals Central Arkansas and McNeese State before returning home to host Northwestern State in the Colonels' 2010-11 home court finale and then wrapping up the regular season on March 2 with a trip to Southeastern Louisiana.