Colonels take No. 2 seed to Katy

Nicholls’ first crack at basketball without senior guard Tevon Saddler didn’t go too smooth.

The Colonels lost to Southeastern 69-57 on Saturday afternoon – a loss which ends the Colonels’ regular season with a 21-10 record and a 15-3 mark in Southland Conference play.

It was Nicholls’ first game without Saddler, who got injured late in the second half earlier this week against Northwestern State. Without him, the Colonels fell flat offensively, shooting just 35 percent from the field – well below the team’s 47.8 percent shooting percentage for the year.

With the loss, Southeastern earned a share of the regular season Southland Title with Nicholls. The Lions will carry the No. 1 seed into this week’s Southland Tournament, while Nicholls will be No. 2. Both teams earned double byes – automatic bids into the tournament’s semifinals.

But coach Richie Riley said all of that is now in the past and Nicholls has to learn how to win without their senior guard, who was a force throughout the season.

“Southeastern beat us twice this year,” Riley said. “They have a good team. I tip my hat to them. Without Saddler out there, we are a little different. This is a ‘tough-dude’ game. You need your toughest dude in a game like this and Saddler is certainly our (toughest dude).”

It showed.

Throughout Southland play, the Colonels’ offensive prowess showed. During their Southland run, they’d routinely score more than 80 points, while shooting at a high percentage.

But with the injury, Nicholls’ two-headed monster of Saddler and senior Roddy Peters has just one face – and the Lions took full advantage.

Southeastern swarmed, smothered and frustrated Peters anywhere he went on the floor, limiting him to 12 points in the game, while working him to just 5-of-16 shooting and forcing him into nine turnovers.

The Colonels tried to make up for the lost offense with intensity defensively and it worked at times throughout the game.

Nicholls made just 10 field goals in the first half, scoring just 23 points. But the Colonels trailed by just 9 because of swarming defense, which limited the Lions to just 13 made field goals and 44 percent shooting.

But they never could score enough to break the ice and push past the deficit.

In the second half, the Lions opened on a 10-2 run to balloon their lead to 17. Another small surge pushed the advantage to 20 at the 14-minute mark of the game.

But Nicholls didn’t quit.

The Colonels defended their lofty winning streak with pride, going on an 11-4 surge over three minutes to cut the Lions’ lead to 54-41 with 11:30 to go in the game.

But they never could get substantially closer. The Lions made the next surge to balloon the advantage back out near 20 points.

The Colonels fought back late – even cutting Southeastern’s lead to 65-57 with 3 minutes to go on a 3-pointer from Jahvaughn Powell.

But they never scored again, coming up with countless empty possessions in the final minutes to surrender defeat – and the No. 1 overall seed in the Southland Tournament to the Lions.

Senior guard Lafayette Rutledge scored 12 in the loss. Senior post Kimani Jackson also had double figures, pitching in 11. Freshman Kevin Johnson had 9 points and Powell added 8.

With the loss, the Colonels now move their attention to Katy, Texas and the Southland Conference Tournament.

Nicholls’ opponent in Katy is far from certain. The Colonels have a double-bye, which means that their opponent will be the winner between No. 3 Stephen F. Austin and UCA/Lamar.

The Colonels have had luck against UCA and Lamar, posting a combined 3-0 record against those teams, including two wins away from Thibodaux.

But Stephen F. Austin is a bit of a bear. They’re annual contenders in the Southland and they beat the Colonels soundly earlier this season in Texas.

Regardless of their opponent, they will be playing at 7:30 p.m. on Friday night.

On the other side of the bracket, the Lions also have that double bye. They will face the winner between No. 4 Sam Houston State and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi/UNO.

The Lions swept UNO, but lost regular season games against both Sam Houston State and Corpus Christi. Their semifinal game will be at 5 p.m. on Friday.

While Riley concedes that the team’s journey without Saddler is tough, he said during a radio appearance last week that he couldn’t be prouder of this year’s team – no matter how the remainder of the season goes.

“These guys have worked so hard. They’ve really bought in and they’ve all come together. I couldn’t be any prouder or happier for these men,” Riley said. “All of our goals are still on the table and everything is still in front of us. But this is a group that’s really helped us in the process of building our program. We couldn’t be happier for these men.”

Nicholls basketball

Follow Casey on Twitter for more. 

https://twitter.com/casey_gisclair