THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University men's basketball team takes to the court on Saturday afternoon hosting the Northwestern State Demons at 4 p.m. in Stopher Gym.
 
The Colonels enter the game 6-16 on the year and 5-7 in the Southland Conference, hoping to snap a four-game losing skid and close out their three-game home stand on a solid note. Since winning three of their first four conference home contests in Stopher, Nicholls has dropped to 4-3 at home on the season and 3-2 in league games.
 
The 63-51 loss to Stephen F. Austin on Thursday extended the team's losing streak to the Lumberjacks to five-straight dating back to the 2010 season, as the Colonels made just 16 shots in the game and one 3-pointer. Nicholls has yet to win a game this season with scoring 59 points or less, and has only scored 60 or more points against SFA just once in the last five meetings.
 
Fred Hunter continued his torrid pace on Thursday with his fourth consecutive game with at least 20 points, going 5-for-10 from the field and 10-for-13 from the free throw line. The senior from Denton, Texas has led the team in scoring 14 times in 22 games on the year, with 11 games of 20 or more points and 11 double-digit scoring contests on the year. He also helped in accounting for half of Nicholls total rebounds against the Lumberjacks, as he and JaMarkus Horace combined for 12 of Nicholls' 21 on the evening.
 
The Colonels have been hit hard by the injury and sickness bug over the last two weeks, as T.J. Carpenter missed the Thursday game with soreness in the shoulder he injured against the Demons in January, while Jeremy Smith came off of the bench after missing the Southeastern Louisiana game with the flu and Zachary West not in uniform while dealing with symptoms akin to pneumonia. Linden Smith-Hyde has filled in the last two games in a starting role, as Horace made his fourth start of the season against the Lumberjacks, scoring ten points with two blocks.
 
Nicholls will be hoping for the same magic the team had against Northwestern State the first time around in Natchitoches, scoring a season-high 93 points on the Demons in its televised game on ESPN3. Since that loss the Demons have been on a tear winning seven-straight and sitting in second place in the league standings behind SFA heading into the final stretch of conference games with tournament seeding at stake.
 
A completely different mindset will be needed to fend off Northwestern State on Saturday, as the stingiest defense in Stephen F. Austin will be replaced by the country's No. 1 scoring offense in NSU. The Demons are averaging 84.1 points per game this season, leading the likes of Indiana, Iona, Cal State Fullerton and Mississippi. On their roster, nine of ten players have played in all 23 games this season, as the team's leading scorer, DeQuan Hicks, lead the squad in points with a 14.4 points per game average with zero starts to his credit.
 
The radio broadcast of the game will begin with the Colonel Countdown pregame show, beginning 15 minutes prior to the start of the contest.
 
 
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
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