Nicholls may have a collection of players referred to as the “Big Three” (Arthur Haralson, Chris Bacon and Marlon Green) but Monday night was the unveiling of the Colonels version of the Big Eight. In the end, two starters (besides the Big Three) and four bench players contributed points and minutes en route to helping the Colonels post a 74-70 win over Southland Conference opponent Sam Houston State in Huntsville, Texas.
“The guys who had not been producing for us really came off the bench and gave us a lift, and that’s what we needed,” Colonel head coach Rickey Broussard said.
Besides bench play, another ingredient that helped the Colonels win Monday was perimeter shooting. Nicholls went 9-for-21 (42.9 percent) from behind the arc.
“I’ve been saying all along that if our perimeter players and bench guys start really producing and giving us a little bit more balance offensively that we could have an outstanding basketball team,” Broussard said.
With its win over league-leading Sam Houston State, Nicholls moved its record to 8-8 overall and 6-3 (tied for second) in SLC action.
Although Haralson, Bacon, and Green all played Saturday, Green saw limited action after suffering an injury to his stomach.
Also, Bacon sustained a cut to his head during the game, but returned to action and ended up playing 31 minutes.
Broussard said he could tell that Green’s injury gave his team a spark at halftime.
“It’s like they saw what happened to Marlon and they rallied around that,” Broussard said.
“I think the players realized it was a dangerous situation and they all went into the training room and told him that they would take care of things for him.”
Haralson, who led the Colonels with 25 points, 13 rebounds and three steals, said he was pleased with the way the team came out and played in the second half after Green’s injury.
“He went down and we didn’t know it was as bad as it was,” Haralson said. “We just all came together at half and said to ourselves ‘lets get this one for Marlon’. It was a team effort and everyone came out and stepped up.”
Trailing 36-35 at half, Nicholls exploded out of the gates in the second half of play.
The Colonels started the second half by going on a 15-6 run to take a 51-41 lead.
Later on, with the game tied at 57-57, Nicholls embarked on its stretch run, which saw Bacon and Beau O’ Quin hitting key baskets to help give the Colonels a 64-57 lead. Bacon made a pair of jumpers, while O’
Quin hit a three-pointer.
Besides Haralson, other players who tallied double figures were Sean Hughley and Earnest Porter. Hughley notched 12 points, while Porter chipped in 10.
The Colonels will return to action tonight when they face SLC opponent Northwestern State in Stopher Gym.
Nicholls game against Northwestern State will be the first of two home contests versus league leading teams, as the Colonels will host first-place McNeese State Saturday night.
Tip-off for the Northwestern game is slated for 7 p.m., while Saturday’s game against McNeese will get underway at 7:30 p.m.
On Saturday, Nicholls fell to Lamar University in Huntsville, Texas 79-77.
The game went back-and-forth during the closing seconds. In fact, the Colonels knotted the game at 77-77 when Green converted on a pair of free throws with seven seconds remaining.
On the ensuing possession, Lamar’s Kenyon Spears drove the lane and was fouled by Haralson with 1.3 seconds to go. Spears hit both free throws to give his team the two-point win.
Leading the way for Nicholls in the scoring column was Haralson and Bacon. Haralson tallied 27 points, while Bacon notched 21. Porter closed out the leader board with 11 points.
