Feb. 22
February 5, 2007
Bernice Hughes
February 7, 2007
From Sports Information
The Colonels came out firing on all cylinders in the second half to put in-state rival McNeese State away on Saturday night by the score of 61-53 in Stopher Gym.
“I thought that our guys came out after the half with a better awareness and understanding of what we needed to do,” said head coach J.P. Piper. “This was a total team win.”
The Colonels (4-19, 3-6) trailed McNeese State (8-14, 3-5) 24-23 at halftime as both teams struggled to find a rhythm in the first period.†Nicholls bounced back in a big way in the second half by scoring 13 unanswered points over the first four minutes to take a 36-24 lead at the 15:54 mark.
Nicholls would go on to outscore McNeese State 27-to-7 over the first eight and a half minutes of the second half to build a 19-point lead heading into the final 10 minutes.†The Cowboys cut into the lead to make it a consistent eight point game over the last minute and a half, but that was the closest the Colonels would allow.†Nicholls held on to win to improve to 3-6 in Southland Conference play.
“We needed this win, our guys knew and played like it,” said Piper.†“Our defense came alive and really got after them that helped seal the win.”
The Colonels’ defense reeked havoc all game as McNeese State only shot 29.8 percent (17-of-57) from field goal range for the contest, and a dismal 15.8 percent (3-of-19) from downtown.†Over the Cowboys past two games, they have only shot 10.3 percent (3-of-29) from three point land.
McNeese State’s Quentin Gonzales led all scorers with 18 points as the Cowboys only had one other player in double figures.
Senior guard/forward Stefan Blaszczynski led the Colonels with 17 points and tied junior guard/forward Adonis Gray for team high honors in rebounds with six.†Gray also added 14 points of his own, while sophomore forward Ryan Bathie rounded out the Colonels double digit scorers with 10.
Nicholls will be back in action on Thursday night when they travel to league leading Texas-A&M Corpus Christi.†Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
Lady Colonels survive late rally, win SLC matchup
The Nicholls women’s basketball team survived a late second half McNeese State run, as the Lady Colonels defeated the Cowgirls, 56-54, Saturday afternoon at Stopher Gymnasium.
Nicholls improved to 5-15 on the season and 3-6 in the Southland Conference. McNeese State dropped to 2-19 overall and 0-8 in conference play.
“It was a tight game, but I thought we did a good job at the end,” said head coach Mark Cook. “We made big defensive stops when we needed to, and but we didn’t play well on the offensive side of the ball. We have to learn how to play two games back-to-back to get a ‘W’. I am happy for the team, because we got the victory tonight, but we are going to have to play better than that in order to keep winning.”
Sophomore guard Katherine Plummer led all scorers with a season high 19 points. Jamie Octave and Claire Barry chipped in 12 and 10 points, respectively, for the Lady Colonels.
Shonice Sprouse led the Cowgirls with 12 points, while Jessica Hooker added 10 points and three steals.
Nicholls finished the game shooting 34 percent from the field, compared to McNeese State’s 33 percent.
The Lady Colonels quickly ran out to a 16-6 lead over the first 7:35 of the game, with all five starters contributing to the scoring. Nicholls held a 13-point advantage on four different occasions, and went into halftime sporting a 32-23 lead.
The Cowgirls slowly began to chip into the Lady Colonel lead, and by the 13:27 mark, had trimmed the deficit to six points, 38-32. Two Tiffany Jones free throws later extended the Nicholls lead back to nine points, at 43-34, but McNeese responded with a 6-0 run, to bring the score to 43-40, with 8:34 remaining in the game.
After a layup by Plummer made it 45-40, Sprouse nailed a three-pointer, to bring the Cowgirls to within two points, 45-43. It was the closest McNeese had been since trailing 2-0 to start the game.
In their next possession, with the shot clock winding down, Octave would find an open Kelli Johnson, who drained a three-pointer of her own, widening the gap back to five points, 48-43. After each team traded baskets, Cowgirl coach Freddie Murray was assessed a technical foul, giving Nicholls not only two free throws, but also the ball. Barry sank one of the two free throws, and Plummer sank a ten-foot jumper, extending the Lady Colonel lead to 52-45, with 5:35 left to play.
Once again, McNeese fought back, and after two made free throws by Courtnee’ Hollins, had cut the lead back down to three points, 52-49, with 4:14 showing on the clock. With Nicholls holding a 55-50 advantage, junior guard Brittany Boone’s three-pointer from the left wing cut the lead to 55-53 with 54 seconds remaining. After an Octave missed free throw, McNeese got the ball to Hooker, who was fouled with 12 seconds left in the game. Her first free throw cut the lead to 55-54, but Hooker was unable to convert on the second, and Dominique Washington yanked down the defensive rebound for the Lady Colonels, and quickly passed to Octave, who was fouled with six seconds left to play. Octave converted the second of two free throws, giving Nicholls a 56-54 lead.
Boone received the inbound pass and was able to dribble the length of the court, but could not get a shot off before the buzzer sounded, and the Lady Colonels claimed their second conference home victory in the past three days.
The Lady Colonels return to action on Thursday, as they host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 6:30 p.m.
Photo by Doug Keese/NSU * Senior guard Stefan Blaszczynski scored 17 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists to help beat McNeese State on Saturday night.
