Ernest Deroche Sr.
December 16, 2008
Whitney Nicole "Black" Jones
December 18, 2008“Protect this house.”
The slogan adopted by sports apparel company Under Armour for its television commercials has been seen on signs in arenas across the country.
It’s been used as a motivational tool for coaches in their speeches and as a promotional tool, often appearing on Under Armor merchandise.
However, this season, the Nicholls State Colonels basketball team adopted the slogan as one of its own, vowing to remain competitive and win as many possible games, if not all, at home.
With the Sixth Man Basketball Band blaring their instruments in the corner, and Nicholls State’s fans and students giving the opponents a piece of their mind, every member on the team believes it’s his duty to win at home this season.
So far, they haven’t disappointed.
The Colonels started the season off 3-0 at home for the second consecutive season, winning by an average of 26.3 points.
Two of those wins, Southern and the University of New Orleans, were against Division I programs. The other was a 43-point thrashing of NAIA’s Huston-Tillotson last Wednesday.
Senior Justin Payne said winning at home is something the Colonels set out to do when they returned to practice in the off-season.
“We knew from the get-go that we wanted to protect our house,” he said. “We’re really big on that this season. We want to win every game at home this year, and play with pride. The first step towards making a run at the conference tournament is winning at home, and I know we’re capable.”
Fifth-year head coach J.P. Piper said it was the team who vowed to win more games at home. He attributed a 5-5 record at home last season, and key heartbreaking losses, to his team’s mentality.
The Colonels lost four of those five games at home last year by a combined total of 11 points.
All of the five losses came to Southland Conference teams and two of those four losses were in overtime (Central Arkansas 96-98 and Lamar 68-72).
Since Stopher Gymnasium was built in 1980, the Colonels hold a 192-140 record at home
“Every team has the desire to win at home,” the coach said. “We gave up some heartbreakers on this floor last year and it’s something we talk about every day. They (the team) love playing here. We’re going to continue to work hard to defend the home court.”
But, there is still work to do. The Colonels return to action tonight in Baton Rouge against the Louisiana State University Tigers, and play three more games on the road before returning home on Jan. 5 to play Southern University-New Orleans.
From that point on, the remainder of the season is Southland Conference games. Piper said he believes his team can compete and hopefully be at .500 or better by the time conference starts.
“You start talking about piling up wins in the pre-conference and what it does for their confidence. When we win we can always get a lot done in practice,” he said. “We’re not licking our wounds and feeling sorry for ourselves, we’re just worried about coming in and preparing for the next game.”
He added, “There was an effort in scheduling this year to play a tamer schedule. To really look to try to create some momentum in the pre-conference that would hopefully carry into conference. I think we’ve done that. We’re right on pace with where we thought we would be.”
As one of only two seniors, Payne said he feels more confident about the remainder of the season than he has in his four previous years at the school.
Payne said the team wants to win at home, but it means nothing if they don’t end up in the conference tournament by season’s end.
A winning record at home could bode well for the Colonels’ tournament hopes this season.
“We still have a lot of work to do. We’re not going to be satisfied unless we get into the tournament,” Payne said. “We want some more and it’s going to take a lot of toughness. I think we have what it takes. If we can finish with a good conference record here, then we feel we can make a run at the tournament.”
