Strong three-point shooting leads Bearkats past Colonels

The Sam Houston State Bearkats shot 45 percent from behind the arc in the second half to run away with an 81-61 victory over the Nicholls State Colonels Saturday in Thibodaux.

NSU head coach J.P. Piper said his team held up well at first, but the Bearkats were just too quick.

“They just wore us down physically and mentally,” Piper said. “We made some mistakes that hopefully are not going to be characteristic of our team. I give Sam Houston a lot of credit for their ability to generate a lot of pressure.”

The Colonels (1-15, 0-2) came out of the gates on fire as Justin Payne hit a three pointer on the opening possession to take the early 3-0 lead.

Following a jumper by C.J. Hadley to cut the lead to 3-2, the Colonels scored the next two baskets to take a 7-2 lead.

The Colonels led until the 14:20 mark, when Jejuan Plair’s bucket put the Bearkats (10-5, 2-0) ahead for the first time 12-11.

However, the Colonels were able to regain the lead 13-12 on their next possession following a basket by Ryan Bathie.

The Colonels lead extended to 16-12 before the Bearkats took the lead 17-16 at the 10:27 mark following a basket by Ryan Bright.

Although the Colonels tied the score twice (23-23, 25-25) they were never able to regain the lead in the first half as the Bearkats closed out the half on a 10-4 run to lead 35-29.

“We succumbed to their pressure in the second half and gave them some easy buckets off of turnovers,” Piper said. “It seemed like every time we made a mistake defensively they made us pay.”

The Bearkats continued their triumph in the second half by shooting 5-for-11 from three-point range and forcing 21 turnovers in the second half, compared to five in the first, to secure the 20-point win.

During the game however, the Colonels had a scary moment when Stefan Blaszczynski came down hard on his back while going for a loose ball. After lying on the court for several seconds, Blaszczynski stood up and limped to the walked to the locker room to a round of applause by the fans in attendance.

“He has a little trauma to his lower back, almost like being in a car wreck,” Piper said. “We’ll get him in the whirlpool and he should be fine next week.”

Leading the Colonels in scoring was Blaszczynski who had 20, while James Barrett finished with 16 for the Bearkats.