Final Stats Box Score and Play-by-Play

KATY, Texas - Down by as many as 16 points in the second half, the No. 8 seed Nicholls State University men's basketball team (14-14) stormed back to within two points of regular season champion and No. 1 seed McNeese State (20-10).  However, the Cowboys managed to hang on for a 61-54 win to eliminate the Colonels in the opening round of the 2011 State Farm Southland Conference Basketball Tournament on Wednesday night at the Leonard E. Merrell Center in Katy, Texas.

The Colonels were led by 25 points from senior forward Anatoly Bose, whose game-high total marked the 49th 20 point game of his career.  Backing up Bose was true freshman Chris Talkington, who racked up ten points in the final twenty minutes to establish a new career high.  The Grand Prairie, Texas native made several big shots down the stretch, including a pair of clutch three pointers, to lead a Nicholls back from a 16-point second half deficit.

Nicholls, which had fallen to the Cowboys in a pair of games during the regular season found themselves in a back-and-forth struggle with McNeese early on.  Neither side could claim a lead of larger than five in the opening frame, with McNeese taking a 23-20 lead into the lockerroom at the half.

However, the Cowboys began to show the form that made them the league's regular season champs, opening the second half with a 15-4 run to go up 38-24 with 13:23 left.  McNeese would extend its lead to as much as 16, taking a 51-35 lead with 7:01 remaining, but the Colonels would not go quietly.

Nicholls embarked on an 14-0 run over the next five minutes to come roaring back.  The Colonels got three pointers from senior point guard Kenny Franklin Jr., Tlakington, Bose, a layup by Talkington, and a three by junior guard Ben Martin to cap the run.  Meanwhile, the Colonel defense turned the Cowboys away on four consecutive possessions to claw their way back into the game.

When Martin nailed his three, the Colonels suddenly found themselves down 51-49 with 2:53 left in the contest.  However, the Cowboys got a pair of clutch buckets on consecutive possessions, and made the most of a charge call late in the contest, sinking a pair of free throws with 45 seconds left to make it 57-51 in favor of McNeese.

The Colonels had one last rally in them as senior guard Justin Ayers sank a three with 37 seconds left to bring Nicholls to within one possession at 57-54.  However, now forced to foul, the Cowboys converted on their final four trips to the line in the final 40 seconds, hanging on for a 61-54 win.

McNeese was led by a quartet of double digit scorers; Diego Kapelan and Patrick Richard each had 14 points, C.J. Collins added 13, and Stephan Martin added ten.

With 25 points, Bose finishes his Nicholls career with 2,040 career points in 120 career games, a 17.0 point/game average.  His overall point total ranks third on the school's all-time list, and his scoring average ranks fourth in school history.  After going 7-for-9 from the free throw line tonight, for his career, Bose is 520-for-672 from the free throw line, establishing new school records for free throws made and free throws attempted.

The Colonels finish the 2010-11 season with a record of 14-14.  Nicholls finished with a record of .500 or better for just the third time in the last ten years, and advanced to the Southland Conference Tournament for the third consecutive season, tying a school record set from the 1998-99 season through the 2000-01 season.