THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University men's basketball team will host Houston Baptist at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday in Stopher Gym, attempting to right the ship after back-to-back second-half letdowns against Lamar and Abilene Christian.
In both of their previous two conference games the Colonels (3-9, 0-2 SLC) led by nine or more points in the first period before unraveling in the second. The Huskies (6-7, 1-2 SLC) are coming off of an 87-67 loss to Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday, but downed McNeese 68-56 on Jan. 5.
The all-time series between Nicholls and Houston Baptist is notched at 10-10, but the Colonels have won the last four meetings, including both matchups between the programs in the 2013-14 season. Nicholls took a 66-64 victory over the Huskies on Jan. 16 in Thibodaux before earning a 75-62 win on March 6 in Houston.
This season the Colonels are averaging 64.1 points while giving up 77.1. Nicholls is shooting 42.4 percent from the floor and 27.1 percent from three-point range while surrendering 44.9 percent and 38.5 percent respectively. The Colonels have a -3.0 rebounding margin and a -2.7 turnover margin through their first 12 games.
Houston Baptist has a +8.5 advantage in rebounding margin this season, but a -3.5 turnover margin. Nicholls will look to keep the battle of the boards close and force mistakes from the turnover-prone Huskies to be in position for a victory on Tuesday night.
Amin Torres leads the offensive attack for the Colonels, averaging 13.6 points and 1.5 assists this season.
Sam McBeath paces the squad with 6.5 rebounds per contest and
Richie Lewis averages a team-high 2.7 assists per game. Lewis is ranked 46
th in the nation for average steals (2.08) and
Liam Thomas is ranked 55
th in the nation for average blocks (2.1).
Anthony Odunsi and Colter Lasher spearhead the Houston Baptist offense, averaging 11.4 and 11.2 points respectively. Josh Ibarra leads the team in rebounding with a 7.0 average and Marcel Smith dishes out 2.15 assists per game.
Nicholls will host the Huskies before taking on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday in Stopher Gym. Both matchups 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.
