Alabama rolls past Nicholls State, 91-53

NSU Sports Information Desk

Alabama scored often and scored early as they shot 57.6 percent (34-of-59) from field goal range in their win over the Colonels, 91-53, in Coleman Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.

The Crimson Tide (5-3) had five players in double digits.

Mykal Riley led the way with 22 points and was closely followed by Alonzo Gee, who had 20. Other Alabama players scoring in double figures were Brandon Hollinger with 14 off the bench, Rico Pickett with 12, and Demetrius Jemison with 10.

The Colonels (2-7) had only one player cross the decade mark as freshman Dominic Friend had 11 points in the loss.

Sophomore Michael Czepil was the next closest to scoring in double digits with nine.

“They (Alabama) started the game shooting really well from everywhere, and never cooled off. In fact, they got better as the game went on,” said Nicholls head coach J.P. Piper. “We lacked some intensity in stretches, but that is not to take away from what Alabama did. They (Alabama) really played well.”

For the game, the Crimson Tide sank 13-of-20 three pointers, and out-rebounded the Colonels 46-to-22.

Nicholls did commit fewer turnovers in the game by only having 17 miscues to Alabama’s 19, but the Crimson Tide scored 27 points off the Colonels’ miscues while Nicholls only managed to churn out 15 on Alabama’s 19 misfortunes.

The Colonels hosted the University of Louisiana-Monroe Tuesday, but the results were unavailable by press time.

Lady Colonels struggle with Prairie View’s defense

Prairie View A&M had a total of 25 offensive rebounds that led to 22 points, while the Lady Colonels committed 25 turnovers that led to the Panthers defeating Nicholls, 56-51, in Stopher Gym on Saturday evening.

The Panthers (2-6) scored 18 points off the Lady Colonels 25 turnovers, but Nicholls did outscore Prairie View’s bench 20-to-4.

Prairie View had four players score in double digits with Chari Smith and Candice Thomas each scoring 14.

Smith had four of the Panthers’ eight blocks, while Thomas had three of the Panthers’ 11 steals.

Others crossing the decade mark for Prairie View were Gaati Werema with 13 and Shavonne Smith with 11.

“After the game I challenged our team to step up and play better,” said Nicholls head coach Mark Cook. “Our opponents key in on Katherine (Plummer), which means that we need someone to step up around her.”

Plummer, a senior, had a game-high 19 points in the win, but was the only Lady Colonel in double digits.

Plummer also added four rebounds and four assists in 40 minutes of play.

The Lady Colonels (1-6) were out-rebounded by the Panthers 53-to-50, but outshot Prairie View from the floor by compiling a 32.8 percent (20-of-61) field goal percentage to the Panthers 27.0 percent (20-of-74).

Following Plummer in scoring for the Lady Colonels were true freshmen Christie Bryant and Shelly West with seven each. West was also 2-of-4 from behind the arc.

The Lady Colonels played Alcorn State on the road Tuesday, but the results were unavailable by press time.