THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University men's basketball team returns to conference action Wednesday in a key Southland Conference matchup hosting the Central Arkansas Bears as the race to Katy begins to heat up. The Colonels are currently in the eighth spot in the conference standings heading into the final four games of the season, holding a one game lead over three teams heading into Wednesday's action. The Colonels dropped their last game to IUPUI 84-80 last Saturday participating in the Sears BracketBuster event.
 
Last time out
Stepping out of conference play to take part in the Sears Bracketbuster event, the Nicholls men's basketball team took on a disciplined IUPUI Jaguars team, and although the Colonels rallied late, the team couldn't contain Jaguars forward Alex Young and his 25 points as the Colonels fell 84-80 Saturday afternoon in Thibodaux. Led by Chris Talkington's 16 points, the Colonels (8-17) had five total players score in double figures, followed by Shane Rillieux's 15, with nine points coming from the free throw line. Young, the tenth leading scorer in the country, was 8-for-12 from the field for the Jags (13-16) and was the game's high scorer. The Colonels and Jags played as tight of a game as you could have expected for two teams meeting for the first time in over 30 years, as each team made 27 shots on the night on a combined 24 assists. Although the Colonels drained eight 3-pointers on the afternoon, the Jaguars went to the line 31 times, making 25 on the night for an 80-percent clip from the charity stripe. Averaging just over 72 points per game, the Jaguars were halfway to 86 by the end of the first half and went into the locker room up 43-38. The Colonels, however, were within a point of the Jags twice three minutes into the second stanza and looking to capitalize on the extra momentum to eventually take the lead, but the defense couldn't get the necessary stops to curtail the IUPUI offense and the Jaguars continued to score, including outscoring Nicholls 27-15 over the next 13 minutes to lead by as many as 13 with a little over 4:30 remaining.
 
Game 1 Recap – At Central Arkansas: Bears 99, Nicholls 76
Down 15 points at the break, the Colonels couldn't stop the run-and-gun offense of the Central Arkansas Bears in the second half, as the Bears led by as many as 33 in defeating Nicholls 99-76 Wednesday night in the Farris Center. Four players scored in double-figures for the Colonels (4-13, 0-5 SLC), led by a career-high 19 from Sam McBeath. Shane Rillieux tied his career-best with 16, while Linden Smith-Hyde poured in a new career mark of 15 off of the bench. The Bears (7-9, 2-2) were paced by five players in double-figures, as Robert Crawford and LaQuentin Miles combined for 36 points, as each player scored a game-high 19 for UCA. UCA outscored the Colonels 20-7 to start the second half to put the Colonels in an even bigger hole, and finished hitting 41 shots on the night for a 52-percent clip. Although the Colonels were able to sink seven 3-pointers on the night, the Bears went 10-for-21 from beyond the arc, hitting eight in the first half.
 
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.
 
Many Reasons For Success
Sophomore Dantrell Thomas, who has battled a calf injury since the beginning of the season, has turned up his offensive play as of late, with five straight double-digit scoring games, earning Southland Conference Player of the Week honors the week of Feb. 6. He showed his aggressive play over the course of two games earlier in the season, scoring nine points in five minutes against ULM and six points in seven minutes against Texas. Since league play began, Thomas is averaging over 13 points a game, more than two points better than his season average, and averaged 20 points per game over four games from Feb. 1-11.
 
HAMM-ing it up
Sophomore Bryan Hammond has taken advantage of his increased playing time, leading the team in scoring five times already this year, with ten double-digit scoring games to his credit. Against Southeastern Jan 21, Hammond played every minute on the court and hit the game-winning shot to snap the Colonels six-game losing streak. Bryan Hammond also ranks in the top 200 individual players in the nation with a 1.5 assist-turnover ratio, and in the top ten in the conference in that category along with minutes played and assists.
  
Going the Distance
Shane Rillieux played all 40 minutes in the 86-65 loss to the Warhawks Nov. 28, but in the process scored 12 points for the second straight game and dished out a season-best four assists. Against the Lumberjacks Feb. 4, Rillieux played 42 minutes, the most for the Colonels in the overtime game, and scored a career high 17 points. On the season Rillieux has played in 37 minutes or more in a game five times.
 
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. Coming off of the bench again against Northwestern State, Bailey drained five of nine shots on the night and hit a game-high four 3-pointers to finish tied for second on the team in points with 14. It's a new career mark in points for Bailey.
 
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 starters in Ben Martin, Dantrell Thomas Chris Talkington and Lachlan Prest. Martin (back) has not played since the win over Houston Baptist in the ULL tournament, while Thomas has missed 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 finally returned to the lineup against UTA Jan. 7. While Prest came off the bench to play against UTSA, he did not play against the Mavericks three days later and will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury. Talkington, who suffered a knee sprain against UNC, will be a game-to-game decision. 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.
 
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.geauxcolonels.com