Road game blues: Colonels searching for magic outside of Stopher

Washington hopes to end career with a bang
January 17, 2017
Lady Tigers seeking their peak
January 17, 2017
Washington hopes to end career with a bang
January 17, 2017
Lady Tigers seeking their peak
January 17, 2017

If every game were in Stopher Gymnasium, the Nicholls State University men’s basketball team would be the odds-on favorite to win the Southland Conference.

But unfortunately, that’s not exactly how the system works, which means the Colonels will have to find ways to win games on the road or else risk struggling throughout the rest of the year.


Nicholls is 9-9 at press-time, but just 2-3 in Southland play – a disappointing start for the Colonels, considering that the team opened league play with two-straight conference wins.

Nicholls’ troubles have all been on the road, where the team just wrapped up a winless road trip, losing to Sam Houston State, Northwestern State and Stephen F. Austin – allowing 80 points per game in the three tilts.

First-year coach Richie Riley knows that won’t cut it.


Since before the season, he’s said that the Colonels will have to win games with energy and defense – especially when on the road.

“We want to pressure opponents,” Riley said. “We want to play with an up-tempo, fast pace. We want to attack, quickly turn defense into offense and find ways to turn this program around and make it into something that our fans can be incredibly proud of.”

In home games, that’s not been a problem for the Colonels – not in the least.


Nicholls is undefeated at home under Riley – a 6-0 start that’s often featured blowouts.

In five of the home wins, the Colonels have won by 10 or more points.

Sure, some of the victories have come against inferior teams who are not Division-I schools. But two of the wins were also inside of the Southland – victories against Incarnate Word and Texas A&M – Corpus Christi.


The win over Corpus Christi snapped a long, lengthy losing streak the Colonels owned against the Islanders.

Slasher Jahvaughn Powell said that win was key because it showed how good the Colonels could be when they play their best brand of basketball.

He said Nicholls’ locker room is confident that on any given night, the team can beat anyone that it goes to battle with.


“It’s a different team this year,” Powell said after the win over the Islanders. “We’ve got a lot of guys that can step up and tonight was one of those nights. I think we had three or four guys in double figures and everybody came to play. This was our best defensive game of the season all-around, as well – from our wings to our bigs to our top guys. It’s just a great overall feeling to know that we can win games like this at home and protect our home court.”

But that same level of success hasn’t been carried into gyms outside of Thibodaux.

At press-time, the Colonels are just 2-9 on the road – both of the victories coming in Birmingham. One was against Bethune Cookman and the other against Samford.


In Southland play, Nicholls has been bad in virtually every phase during road games, routinely giving up points, while also struggling to score some of their own.

The Colonels have also struggled situationally, as well.

Against Northwestern State last week, Nicholls held a seven-point halftime lead over the Demons – an advantage the stretched to as many as 13 in the second half of play.


But Northwestern battled back in a big way, overtaking the Colonels in the middle stages of the half and seizing control.

The Colonels battled back late in the game and took back the lead with just 1:56 to play, but the Demons made the final run and scored an 86-81 victory.

The Colonels will get plenty cracks at fixing their problems on the road, but none of those challenges will take place this week – a welcome sight to Nicholls fans.


The Colonels host Abilene Christian on Thursda and Lamar on Saturday. If successful in both, Nicholls would get back above .500 in Southland play.

Abilene Christian is 8-9 on the season and 2-4 in Southland play.

Lamar is better, owning an 11-7 record, including a 3-2 mark in the Southland.


Thursday’s game will tip at 8 p.m., and Saturday’s contest is at 3 p.m.

Both games can be heard on ESPN-New Orleans (100.3 FM).

COLONEL WOMEN SEARCHING FOR


CONSISTENCY

Like the Nicholls men, the Colonels’ women’s team is looking to get itself situated in the Southland Conference standings – a challenge that’s proven to be a bit of a struggle.

The ladies lost two-straight games this past week – both in lopsided fashion, falling 75-58 to Northwestern State and then 80-55 at Stephen F. Austin.


The losses dropped Nicholls to 5-11 on the season and 2-3 in Southland Conference play.

For Nicholls, the challenge is finding depth.

The Colonels starters are all solid – a five-player group led by Houma native Cassidy Barrios, who is averaging 14.6 points per game this season to lead the team.


Barrios continues to power the team offensively after a dominant freshman season last year where she was one of the top underclassmen in the conference in scoring.

Also regularly in the lineup are Tykeria Williams, Emani White, Taylor Morrison and Hope Pawlowski – all players who average more than 10 points per game for Nicholls.

The challenge coach DoBee Plaisance faces at press-time is finding offense outside of those five players.


Aside from the five starters, the Colonels are currently getting just 10 points per game from its reserves – a number that is near the bottom in America for its futility.

Like the men, the Colonels ladies will also host Abilene Christian and Lamar this week, but one of the games is not a double-header.

Nicholls’ women will play Abilene Christian on Wednesday night in a single-header game. Tip-off will be at 6 p.m. •


This story is part of our weekly commitment to bring the latest in Nicholls State University athletics. Our Nicholls coverage is sponsored by Thibodaux Regional Medical Center. 

Richie Riley


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