When your opponent makes 52 percent of its shots, and you make only 38 percent of yours, odds are you will come up on the losing end. Enter Nicholls, who got off to a slow start against the University of Texas-Arlington and never recovered en route to dropping its third straight Southland Conference game 77-66.
“I think that we are basically in a slump,” Nicholls coach Rickey Broussard said. “We are kind of at a crossroads right now where we have a decision to make. We can either pack it in, or we can come together and turn it around. It is still not too late to do that.”
With the loss, Nicholls fell to 9-11 overall and 7-6 in conference action, while UTA improved to 11-10 on the year and 8-5 in the SLC. Nicholls now sits in sixth place in the SLC standings.
The Colonels began the game against UTA strong, as Arthur Haralson made a pair of baskets to give his team an early 4-0 lead. Haralson finished the night with 26 points after recording just two points two nights earlier against Stephen F. Austin.
Broussard said he was glad to see Haralson get back on track.
“I wanted to get the ball to Art the first time down the floor,” Broussard said. “I was determined to make him feel better about himself. We got him the ball early and I think he felt good about it.”
After Nicholls took an 8-4 advantage, the Mavericks went on a 10-0 run to take a 14-8 lead. During its run, Derrick Obasohan accounted for six points, while Mack Callier scored the other four.
Nicholls answered UTA’s run with one of its own, as the Colonels scored six straight points to tie the game at 14-14 with 9:11 remaining in the half.
Later on, with the score standing at 28-28, UTA scored the final four points of the half to take a 32-28 lead.
The second half saw Nicholls beginning the same way as they started the first: scoring points.
Haralson scored a basket in the first-minute to make it a 32-30 game.
After Haralson’s basket, UTA went on a 6-2 run to take a 38-32 lead with 16:57 remaining in the second half.
After Colonel Zach Ray scored two straight buckets to make it a 38-37 ball game at the 15:36 mark, UTA went on a 20-8 run to take a 17-point lead at 58-45.
From that point on, UTA maintained a double-digit lead, except for two occasions when Nicholls cut the Maverick advantage to nine points.
Besides Haralson, Chris Bacon and Ray also recorded double figures in scoring, as Bacon scored 12 points and Ray chipped in 10.
Ray played most of the game, but suffered a high-ankle sprain in the second half that forced him to miss the remainder of the contest.
The Colonels will return to action Saturday when they travel to north Louisiana to take on the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
Nicholls will conclude its road-trip Monday when they face Northwestern State in Natchitoches.
Saturday’s contest is scheduled to begin at 7:45 p.m., while Monday’s game is set to start at 6 p.m.
Although the Colonels have dropped three conference games in a row, Broussard said he welcomes the opportunity to get back on the road.
“The one thing I am not fearful of is taking them on the road,” Broussard said. “For some reason, we play better on the road. Right now, what we need to do is regroup, practice harder and spend some more time on the shooting end of things.”
Stephen F. Austin 62 Nicholls 51
When play began on Saturday night, SFA jumped out to an early 9-3 lead. Eventually, SFA built its lead up to 10 points at 23-13 with 7:51 showing on the clock. The half ended with the Lumberjacks holding a 33-28 lead.
In the second half, the Lumberjacks took as much as a 13-point lead at 49-36 after Skip Jackson made a jumper with 7:30 remaining.
For the remainder of the contest, SFA maintained its double-digit lead except for several occasions where the Colonels cut SFA’s advantage to nine points.
Leading the way in the scoring column for Nicholls were Bacon and Sean Hughley. Bacon finished the night with 22 points, while Hughley tallied 15.
For the Mavericks, Skip Jackson, Emanuel Jackson and Ransom White led the way, as each recorded double figures in scoring.
