Earline Hebert Adams
December 4, 2006
Houma woman nabbed with crack cocaine
December 6, 2006
From Sports Information
The Nicholls women’s basketball team could not overcome a tough New Orleans team, as the Lady Colonels dropped their home opener, 60-50, Wednesday evening at Stopher Gymnasium.
“I thought we played hard tonight,” said head coach Mark Cook. “Our mental mistakes hurt us tonight. We did a great job on defense forcing the turnovers, but didn’t score many points off of them. I think we need to get a little game experience out of some of our players, and then we will be able to convert those turnovers into points.”
Claire Barry led Nicholls (1-6) with 16 points. Jamie Octave recorded her first double-double of the season, scoring 12 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
Talishia Young led UNO (5-2) with a double-double of her own. She finished with a game-high 20 points and 11 rebounds.
As a team, the Lady Colonels shot 25 percent from the field, compared to the Privateers’ 38 percent. UNO finished 16-for-24 (67 percent) from the free throw line, while Nicholls made 17-of-28 (61 percent) shots from the line. The Privateers out-rebounded the Lady Colonels, 47-38. Nicholls forced 23 UNO turnovers, but scored only 15 points.
The Lady Colonels jumped out to an early 10-2 lead on a Barry jumper 5:30 into the game. However, the Privateers rallied to take a 17-16 lead, after Le’Della English stole the ball and drove the length of the court for a layup. UNO went into the half, holding a 22-20 lead.
A quick Morteacha Perry layup to start the second half, extended the Privateer lead to four points, 24-20, but Nicholls came back to tie the score at 35-35 with 12:22 remaining in the game. However, with the scored tied at 41-41, UNO went on a 15-3 run over a span of 6:41 to break out to a 56-44 lead, en route to taking the game, 60-50.
Nicholls will break for final exams, before returning to action on Sunday, December 10, when they travel to Queens, N.Y. to take on St. John’s. Tip off is set for 1 p.m. CST.
Nicholls’ finished road trip; falls to Centenary
The Colonels closed out their season-opening nine-game road trip with an 84-71 loss to Centenary on Saturday evening. In the loss, senior Stefan Blaszczynski scored a game-high 24 points, but it was not enough for Nicholls to emerge victorious against the Gents.
“I take the blame for this disappointing loss,” said head coach J.P. Piper. “We just did not match their (Centenary) intensity out there in the second half today.”
The Colonels (0-9, 0-0) led by as many as 10 points early on in the first half, but saw that lead dwindle down as the first half came to a close. Nicholls went into the locker room at halftime with a 38-37 lead, largely due to their 65-percent field goal shooting and 53.8-percent three-point shooting.
However, the second half was not kind to the Colonels as they only shot 42.9 percent from the floor, and 28.6 percent (4-14) from behind the arc. The Gents shot more efficiently in the second half, and soon took the lead and never looked back.
The Gents (4-4, 0-0) scored 26 points off of 17 Nicholls’ turnovers, out rebounded the Colonels 35 to 27 in the victory, and improved to .500 on the season. Centenary led by as many as 16 points in the second half, and went on to win by 13.
Alexander Starr and Tyrone Hamilton each scored 17 for the Gents, while Larry Logan added 14, and Lance Hill came off the bench with 16. Hamilton also added seven assists with his team-leading point total.
“Our guys are competitors and will bounce back,” said Piper. “I know all of us are looking forward to playing in front of our own fans next week.”
The only other double-digit scorers for the Colonels besides Blaszczynski were sophomore Ryan Bathie with 17 points and junior Aaron Scott with 10. Scott also set a new career high in blocks with three, and sophomore Justin Payne set a new career high in rebounds with six.
The Colonels will tip-off against North Texas in Stopher Gymnasium on Saturday Sept. 9 at 2 p.m. It will be the Colonels first home game since their 83-75 exhibition victory over Southern University of New Orleans on November 7.
Cross Country/Track and Field sign three
Head Cross Country/Track and Field coach Scott Williamson announced the signing of three runners during the early signing period.
Distance runners Brandon Roupe and Logan Milano, and sprinter, Brittanie Amos, have all signed to compete for the Colonels and Lady Colonels during the 2007-08 season.
Roupe, a native of nearby Labadieville, La., prepped at Assumption High School.
“Brandon has the potential to be a great runner on the collegiate scene,” said Williamson. “We look forward to him making an immediate impact into our program.”
A Gonzales, La.-native, Milano will come to Nicholls after competing for East Ascension High School.
“Logan is a very dedicated hard working individual which will benefit him very much as he makes the transition from high school to college.”
Amos, a native of Opelousas, La., prepped at Opelousas High School. She recorded a personal best time of 12.40 in the 100-meters.
“Brittanie is a very talented sprinter in the 100 and 200 meter races. She has the potential to make an immediate impact in our program.”
Senior Stefan Blaszczynski led the Colonels with 24 points in their loss to Centenary, last Saturday. The game ended a season-opening nine-game road trip for the Colonels. They return to action this Saturday at 2 p.m. against North Texas at Stopher Gym in Thibodaux. Photo by Doug Keese/NSU
