Cheramie commits to the Colonels
February 7, 2018
10 years of fun!
February 7, 2018
The Nicholls State University men’s basketball team is back atop the Southland Conference standings.
To get there, they put together one of their most impressive performances of the season, crushing a close competitor on the road.
Nicholls pounced the University of New Orleans 81-64 on Saturday, improving to 8-2 in the conference in the win – the only team in the league with just two losses at press-time.
The Colonels shot better than 50 percent from the field in the victory and coach Richie Riley said the performance was about as good as his team has looked this season.
“We played unselfishly and that’s the key to our team,” Riley said. “When we come out, play unselfishly and our focus is good, then we’ve got a good basketball team.”
Nicholls won in every phase on Saturday.
The Colonels dominated offensively, getting good, clean looks everywhere on the floor to overwhelm the Privateers’ defense.
Nicholls had four players in double figures in the win, led by senior Roddy Peters who strung together another dominant performance in the victory.
Peters scored 27 points, while also dishing six assists with three rebounds and three steals, shooting 10-of-19 from the field and 6-of-7 from the free throw line.
Riley said he knows Peters can score with anyone in the Southland, but he’s proud of how selfless the standout was with his passing against the Privateers.
“He’s really tough to defend because it’s tough to keep him out of the paint and off the deck,” Riley said. “The thing I’m most proud for Roddy is that he was such a willing passer tonight. He’s got to continue to be a willing passer, know when to score and when to spray it out. I think he did a great job of that tonight.”
The Colonels led 35-23 at halftime, using dominant defense to limit the Privateers to just 29 percent shooting in the first half, while forcing several turnovers.
In the second half, UNO’s offense heated up, but Nicholls caught fire and put the game away for good.
Nicholls shot 65 percent fron the field in the second half, which never allowed UNO to make a serious attempt at a comeback.
Late in the game, the Colonels were clutch at the line, sinking 12-of-16 free throws to seal the win.
The Colonels will stay on the road in their next attempt to add to their Southland Conference lead.
They will take on Abilene Christian tonight at 7 p.m. in what will likely be another stiff challenge.
Abilene Christian is 6-5 in the Southland and has beaten several quality teams, including Lamar, McNeese State, Sam Houston State and Central Arkansas.
On Saturday, the Colonels will return home and take on Houston Baptist – a far more favorable matchup on paper. But don’t be fooled. Houston Baptist is 1-9 in Southland play, but they played Nicholls close earlier this season, falling 72-71 to Nicholls in their gym.
COLONELS WOMEN SCORE DRAMA-FILLED WIN
The Nicholls State University women’s basketball team was down 31-15 at halftime against UNO on Saturday.
But in the second half, the Colonels exploded, scoring arguably their best win of the season to this point.
Nicholls beat the Lady Privateers 62-61 on Saturday – overcoming the huge deficit with a 33-13 third quarter performance and clutch plays late in the game.
The Colonels led 59-58 with 2:40 to play in the game – a lead that held up through several empty possessions for each team.
UNO appeared to win the game late when Kayla Mundy made a 3-pointer to put the Lady Privateers up 61-59 with 3 seconds left – a score assisted by Houma native Randi Brown.
After the bucket, the Colonels remained poised, getting the ball inbounds to junior forward Cassidy Barrios, who drew a foul, while shooting a 3-pointer with less than a second to play.
With the weight of the world on her shoulders, Barrios calmly sank all three shots, swinging the game back to Nicholls and improving the Colonels to 9-12 on the season and 4-6 in Southland Conference play.
UNO fell to 7-5 in Southland in the home defeat.
Barrios was a Privateers’ killer all night long.
She played all 40 minutes for Nicholls and controlled every, single stat category for her team, scoring 24 points, while grabbing 17 rebounds with four assists and four steals in the win.
The Colonels also got double figures from Tykeria Williams (13 points) and Bryanna Washington (10 points).
Their heroics helped the team overcome a putrid night shooting the ball. The Colonels are usually efficient from the 3-point line, but were cold against UNO, shooting just 5-of-24 from behind the stripe.
Barrios’ free throws won the game, but it was Nicholls’ defense that got the team to that point.
The Colonels swarmed UNO, limiting Brown – one of the leading scorers in the country – to just 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting.
Nicholls will return to action this week with a two-game homestand – first against Abilene Christian tonight and then on Saturday against Houston Baptist.
The Colonels are in the middle of the Southland – trying to make up some ground before postseason play.
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