THIBODAUX, La. – In the final game before the team heads into Christmas and New Years holidays, the Nicholls State University men's basketball team will host Troy University at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon in Stopher Gym.
 
The Colonels (2-6) played some of their best ball of the season in a 79-54 loss to Louisiana Tech on Thursday night, and hope to build on their recent successes against the talented Trojans (4-4).
 
Troy had won three straight before falling 73-70 to Austin Peay on Monday in Tennessee, and hopes to rebound against Nicholls, playing the role of the Grinch on Sunday.
 
The Colonels are 10-4 all-time against the Trojans, but have lost the last two meetings, including a 77-62 defeat last season in Alabama.
 
Nicholls is averaging 63.5 points while surrendering 80.5 this year, but has played significantly better within the friendly confines of Stopher Gym. In Thibodaux the Colonels are averaging 21.5 more points per game and allowing 13 less points per game, while committing fewer turnovers and shooting a much higher percentage.
 
Early in the season while playing against some of the top competition in the county, Nicholls consistently lost the battle on the boards, but on Thursday the Colonels earned their largest rebounding margin of the season (+23) against the Bulldogs. Nicholls will need to continue fighting for loose boards and limit their turnovers in order to earn victory against Troy.
 
Amin Torres leads the Colonels offensively, averaging 13.1 points per contest and is 13^th in the Southland Conference in scoring. The twelve players ahead of Torres have played in a combined 105 games, and have only come off the bench twice. Torres has come off the bench in all eight games for Nicholls this season.
 
Sam McBeath has recorded three double-doubles in the last four contests and is averaging a team-high seven rebounds per game. Richie Lewis paces the squad with 2.6 assists, while Liam Thomas is averaging a team-high 1.4 blocks per contest.
 
Musa Abdul-Aleem and Wesley Person spearhead the offense of the Trojans with 15 and 14.3 points per game respectively. Kevin Thomas averages a team-leading 8.8 rebounds, while Chris Bilbo dishes out 2.9 assists per contest.
 
The Colonels host Troy at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday before an eight-day Christmas and New Years holiday break. Sunday's contest will be broadcast live on KQKI 95.3 FM.
 
Visit geauxcolonels.com for live stats and the most up-to-date information on Nicholls men's basketball.