THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University men's basketball team led Northwestern State, 74-72, with just six minutes remaining on Monday, but the Demons closed out the game on a 14-6 run, downing the Colonels, 88-80, and spoiling the Red and Gray's annual Stuff Stopher game in front of a reported crowd of 2,147.
Nicholls (5-16, 1-6 SLC) traded baskets with Northwestern State (4-14, 1-7 SLC) over the opening minutes, and with10:39 remaining in the period, the teams were notched at 20 apiece. The Colonels ran off a 14-2 run over the next three minutes, and after a
Johnathan Bell three-pointer, Nicholls secured its largest lead of the night, at 34-22. The Demons quickly stole the momentum with a 22-7 run of their own, and took a 44-41 advantage into halftime.
The Colonels gradually chipped away at the Northwestern State lead out of the break, and at the 6:36 mark
Quinton Thomas drilled a shot from beyond the arc that tied game at 72 apiece. A pair of
Ja'Dante' Frye free throws put Nicholls ahead by two, but the Colonels went cold over the next five minutes, missing 11 consecutive shots as the Demons pulled away for the win.
Nicholls finished with more bench points (23-13), points off turnovers (17-2), points in the paint (34-30), fast break points (9-7) and blocks (6-4) than Northwestern State, while shooting 46.8% from the floor and 39.3% from three-point range, but the Colonels couldn't slow down the Demon offense. Northwestern State shot 48.5% from the field and 52% from beyond the arc, nailing 9-of-13 shots from deep over the final 20 minutes of the ballgame.
Nicholls shook things up on Monday, inserting
Adam Ward into the starting lineup for the first time in his career. Ward responded with career-highs in points (15) and boards (seven), while adding two emphatic blocks.
Schane Rillieux led a balanced offensive attack by the Colonels with a career-high 17 points, while adding seven assists, five rebounds and three steals in his most complete game of the year. Bell and Frye contributed 12 and 10 points respectively.
Liam Thomas recorded seven points, four blocks and three steals.
The leading scorer in the Southland Conference, Zeek Woodley, paced the Demons with 30 points and eight rebounds. Ishmael Lane grabbed nine boards and added 10 points, while Devonte Hall dished out 11 assists to help Northwestern State snap a seven-game losing streak.
Just before Monday's opening tip,
T.J. Carpenter was honored with a monogrammed ball in recognition of surpassing the 1,000-point threshold for his Nicholls career.
The Colonels will next make the long drive down I10 to for a matchup against Incarnate Word at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday in the Alamo City, before returning closer to home for a battle with New Orleans at 7 p.m. on Monday in the Big Easy.
For the most up-to-date information on Nicholls basketball, visit geauxcolonels.com.
