THIBODAUX, La. – Coming off of their most inspired and complete performance of the 2014-15 season, the Nicholls State University men's basketball team will look to continue their recent success as they battle Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday in Stopher Gym.
The Colonels (4-9, 1-2 SLC) defeated Houston Baptist 61-57, and earned their first Southland Conference victory of the year, despite playing without their leading scorer,
Amin Torres, and assist leader,
Richie Lewis. The Islanders (7-8, 2-1 SLC) opened conference play with consecutive victories before falling to Lamar 66-64, in their most recent outing.
Corpus Christi holds the all-time series against Nicholls 7-3, and is 3-2 all-time when playing in Stopher Gym. Last year the Islanders swept the season series, including a 58-44 victory in the regular-season finale on March 8 in Texas.
The Colonels are averaging 63.1 points per contest while surrendering 75.1 through 13 games this season, while shooting 42.1 percent from the floor and 26.7 percent from beyond the arc. Overall Nicholls has a -3.1 rebounding margin and -2.5 turnover margin this season. In spite of their struggles this season, Stopher Gym has been a welcome sanctuary for the Colonels who are averaging 10.1 more points and giving up 10.9 fewer points on their home floor. Nicholls is shooting a blazing 48.9 percent from the floor and a respectable 31.1 percent from three-point range in Thibodaux, while earning a +8.9 rebounding margin.
Corpus Christi has been strong on the defensive end since entering conference play, forcing an average of 16.3 turnovers in the three games. The Islanders have grabbed 28 steals and forced 49 turnovers en route to 57 points off turnovers over that stretch.
Torres leads the Colonels offensively this season, averaging 13.3 points per game.
Sam McBeath paces the squad with a 6.5 rebounds per game average, while Lewis averages a team-leading 2.7 assists per game.
Liam Thomas has been a dominant force on defense, averaging 2.1 blocks per game this season.
Nicholls will also look for strong contributions from freshman guards
Zach Young and
Quinton Thomas, who had a significant impact on Tuesday's win over Houston Baptist, absent Torres and Lewis. Q. Thomas came up huge on both ends, dishing an assist to McBeath to put the Colonels ahead, before nailing a jumper to extend the lead. He then came up with an emphatic block and sank a free throw to ice the game.
John Jordan spearheads the Corpus Christi offensive attack, averaging 15.4 points and 4.9 assists per game. Rashawn Thomas is second on the team in scoring with a 12.9 average, and leads the team in rebounds with 9.1 per game.
Nicholls will host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday before taking on Sam Houston at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 20 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.
