Annie Lovell
January 28, 2008January 30
January 30, 2008NSU Sports Information Desk
Southeastern Louisiana shot 67.5 percent (27-of-40) from the floor and 71.4 percent (10-of-14) from behind the arc to defeat Nicholls 80-66 on Saturday evening in front of a live audience on Cox Sports Television.
The Colonels were limited to a 34.9 percent (22-of-63) mark from field goal range, and a 30.8 percent (8-of-26) showing from three-point territory.
Nicholls was also out rebounded in the game 36-to-19. However, Southeastern Louisiana did commit 28 turnovers to the Colonels’13.
“They (Southeastern La.) really shot well tonight, and it is hard to beat anyone when the opposing team shoots the way they did,” said Nicholls coach J.P. Piper. “I thought that we challenged them and made them shoot tough shots, but they made them. I’m proud of our guys in the way they never gave up and fought back in the second half.”
Nicholls (6-14, 1-4) trailed by as many as 26 points at the 7:45 mark of the second half, but stormed back with a 16-9 run over the remaining 3:23 to climb back in the game.
The Colonels did outscore the Lions in the second half 46 to 44 with their late rally, but went into the locker room at halftime with a 36-20 setback that they were never able to overcome.
The Lions (11-7, 3-2) had four players in double digits in the win with forward Kevyn Green scoring a game best 19 points that included a 6-of-7 shooting performance from the floor for the contest.
Green also went 3-of-4 from downtown to aid his team. Others scoring in double figures
included forward Warrell Span with 16 points and a game high 13 rebounds, while guard Dekyron Nicks had 13 in the win.
Forward Drayl Arnold came off the bench to contribute 12, all of which came in the first half.
Nicholls also had four players cross the decade mark with forward Ryan Bathie leading the way with 18-points.
Bathie, who is now just three three-pointers away from tying former Colonel Robert Lee’s for the career three-point conversion mark of 173, was 7-of-22 from the floor and 3-of-11 from three-point range, while also collecting a team best four rebounds.
True freshman guard Anatoly Bose got his first career collegiate start in the loss, and made the most of it with 16 points in 34 minutes on the floor.
Both guards Gil Verner and Justin Payne rounded out the double-digit scorers for the Colonels with 11 each, while Payne had a game-high four assists and Verner had a game-best four steals.
The Colonels will be back in action at Northwestern State on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. as they continue their conference march.
The game can be heard on 105.9 FM KBZE and on the Internet at www.kbze.com, while 640 AM KTIB will also pick up the live action starting at 6:15 p.m.
