Seminoles pull away in second half against Nicholls State

NSU Sports Information Desk

The Colonels kept it close in the first half by playing well on both ends of the floor as they went into the locker room trailing 42-35, but the Florida State Seminoles took advantage of Nicholls miscues in the second half to get the 81-58 victory.

“We had a lot of opportunities in the first half to make it tighter than it was, but did not capitalize. We learned a lot about ourselves as a team tonight,” said head coach J.P. Piper. “Florida State has a very prestigious program, and even though we lost, I was really pleased with the effort that the team as a whole put forth tonight.”

The Colonels (0-1) went into the locker room at halftime only trailing by seven points, due in part to shooting 46.7 percent (14-of-30) from the floor while converting 4-of-11 shots from downtown.

However, the Seminoles (1-0) out shot the Colonels from all ranges in the first half to cling to their seven-point lead.

Even though Florida State cooled off in the second period, they were re-energized on the likes of 19 second-half Colonel turnovers that led to 28 points.

For the game, the Seminoles had 37 points on 27 Nicholls miscues.

Despite having lost the turnover battle, the Colonels bench did outscore Florida State’s bench 28-to-21 and out-rebounded the Seminoles, 29-to-26.

Leading the way for the Colonels was junior Ryan Bathie, who had a team-high 14 points, seven rebounds, and four steals.

Bathie was joined in double digits by senior Adonis Gray, who had 11 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals in the loss.

Freshman Dominic Friend and true freshmen Bakari Lewis, Kellan Carter, and Anatoly Bose made their collegiate debuts tonight, and did not disappoint as they combined for 14 of the Colonels 28 bench points.

Friend led the class of newcomers with eight points, four rebounds, and a team best two blocks. Lewis dished out a team-high tie three assists in the loss.

“It was really good to get all of our young players on the court and in the mix in this game so they can get adapted to the speed and athletic talent that is on the college level,” said Piper.

The Colonels will return back home for a tussle with Huston-Tillotson on Tuesday November 13 at 7:30 p.m.

The game will be played after the women’s season opener against Dillard in Stopher Gym, which begins at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are available by calling the Nicholls ticket office at (985) 448-4792.