THIBODAUX, La. – After spending the last week preparing and taking their final exams, the Nicholls State University men's basketball team returns to the hardwood on Saturday night, traveling to California for the first-ever meeting with the San Francisco Dons at 9 p.m. CT.
 
KLRZ 100.3 FM and KLEB 1600 AM will carry all of the action live beginning at 8:45 p.m. with the Colonel Countdown hosted by Mike Wagenheim, leading up to tip off against USF at 9 p.m. Live stats and video will be provided by the University of San Francisco through USFDons.com.
 
The Colonels are currently on a two-game winning streak after defeating Loyola-New Orleans 87-62 last Saturday in Stopher Gym, improving to 2-0 at home in the final game in Thibodaux before conference play begins in early January.
 
Nicholls will be spending the next week on the road, playing three games in six days with a two-game jaunt in Indiana following the contest against USF. In all, the Colonels will travel approximately 5,334 miles round-trip before the holidays.
 
The win over Loyola not only helped improve the team's confidence but it also pushed head coach J.P. Piper closer to a milestone record, as he is now just one win away from 100 for his career. Piper, now in his tenth season at the helm, will become the fourth person in team history to reach that mark, as he can also move into third place all-time at Nicholls in career wins by passing Gordon Stauffer who has 101.
 
Nicholls played one of its best games against the Wolf Pack last weekend, shooting 50 percent from the field and finishing with three players scoring in double figures to give the Colonels a huge lead that the visitors would never be able to overcome.
 
The signature performance came from sophomore guard T.J. Carpenter. The Sibley, La. native came off the bench to score 20 points in the win, including hitting five 3-pointers in a game for the second time this season and matching a career-high. It was the first 20-point game this season for Carpenter, who entered the week 46^th in the country in 3-point field goal percentage (44.4) and 63^rd in 3-point makes per game (2.67).
 
Carpenter was also aided by the team's two senior starting guards in Jeremy Smith and Dantrell Thomas. Smith tied his season-high point total of 16 points while grabbing a season best nine rebounds against the Wolf Pack, while Thomas regrouped from early foul trouble to score 13. Smith, who already has made a career of making high-percentage shots, is 84^th in the country in field goal percentage (54.4) while Thomas is 106^th (53.3).
 
Another standout performance came from junior guard Shane Rillieux, who dished out a career-high 11 assists on the night. After not registering an assist in the first two games of the season, the New Orleans native has not only been able to find his teammates, but helped the team not turn the ball over to create opportunities for the opposing side, as his 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio is third in the Southland.
 
As a team, the Colonels are being very protective of the rock, as the squad is tied for ninth in the country in fewest turnovers with just 71 on the season along with Oregon State. The group is also on the plus-side of the turnover battle, forcing teams into an average of 14 turnovers a game while committing less than 12.
 
Nicholls takes on a San Francisco team that is 5-4 on the year and has not played since falling to Illinois State 90-76 in the finale of the Golden Gate Challenge on Nov. 30. The Dons, which is an acronym for the Spanish phrase which means "of noble origin", is under the leadership of fifth-year head coach Rex Walters.
 
USF's Cole Dickerson leads a group of five players that score in double figures for the Dons, as he is averaging 14.9 points per game and 8.2 rebounds per game. San Francisco has been a force offensively, scoring 90 or more points in five games this season.
 
 
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
TV: None
Radio: KLRZ 100.3 FM, KLEB 1600 AM
Broadcast Team: Mike Wagenheim (play-by-play)
Live Stats: www.USFDons.com