Nicholls rebounded Saturday to take a 77-72 road victory at Northwestern State after coming up on the losing end Thursday night against the University of Louisiana at Monroe. With the win over the Demons, Nicholls improved to 10-12 overall and 8-7 in SLC play, while Northwestern fell to 11-10 on the year and 8-7 in conference action.
When play began, Nicholls jumped out to an early 12-5 lead. After scoring its 12th point, Nicholls saw its seven-point lead disappear, as Northwestern went on a 7-0 run to take a 14-12 advantage. The half ended with Nicholls holding a two-point edge at 33-31.
In the second half, Nicholls slowly built its lead to double figures. The Colonels first double-digit advantage came when Earnest Porter hit a jumper to make it a 52-42 contest with 13:14 remaining in the game.
After Porter’s basket, Northwestern cut the Colonel lead to single digits.
Northwestern got within six points twice, before Nicholls built its lead back up to double figures.
Eventually, Nicholls took as large as a 13-point advantage, but Northwestern made a game of it down the stretch before falling by six points.
Leading the way in the scoring column for Nicholls were Arthur Haralson, Chris Bacon, Marlon Green and Porter. All four recorded double figures. For the game, nine Colonels scored.
ULM 86 Nicholls 80 (OT)
Nicholls comeback bid Thursday night fell short, as ULM found just enough offense in overtime to fend off the Colonels.
Unlike its game against Northwestern where the Colonels jumped out to an early lead, it was ULM who took early control.
The Indians took a 13-5 lead before Nicholls mounted a rally that saw them scoring 12 straight points to take a four-point lead at 17-13. During the run, Green scored eight of the Colonels’ 12 points to give his team a four-point edge. After Green made a layup to make it a four-point contest, ULM went on a 19-4 run to take a 32-21 lead with 5:43 remaining in the first half. The period ended with ULM possessing a 46-31 lead.
While, it was the Indians outscoring the Colonels in the first half, it was Nicholls outscoring the Indians in the second.
The Indians held a 11-point lead at the 8:10 mark before Nicholls rallied to outscore ULM 17-6 down the stretch to tie the game at 73-73.
A Sean Hughley layup with four seconds forced overtime. In the extra period, ULM took early control. Eventually Nicholls tied things up at 78-78 after Green hit a three-pointer with 3:07 left to play. After Green’s three-pointer, Nicholls fell victim to an 8-2 run in the final minutes that took them out of the game and gave ULM the six-point victory.
Leading the way in the scoring column for the Colonels were Bacon and Haralson. Bacon tallied 22, while Haralson notched 20. Other leaders included Green and Porter. Green recorded 18, while Porter finished the night with 11.
Lady Colonels drop pair
In women’s action, the Lady Colonels went on the road to face two of the top teams’ in the SLC. When all was said and done, the Lady Colonels dropped both games to fall to 6-15 in the SLC and 4-10 on the season.
Against ULM, the Lady Colonels battled back-and-forth for the first several minutes. Nicholls built as large as a nine point lead after Dana Kelley hit a pair of free throws at the 8:06 mark. The period ended with the Lady Colonels possessing a two-point lead at 35-33.
After holding the lead for a majority of the contest, the Lady Colonels fell behind for good at the 7:01 mark, as a layup by Shannan Elliot gave her team a one-point edge at 48-47. After Elliot’s layup, ULM went on a 17-2 run to take a 65-49 lead. From that point on, ULM maintained its advantage before taking a 15-point victory.
Leading the way in the scoring column for the Lady Colonels were Katie Schreiter, Mandy Broussard and Kelley. All three recorded 14 points.
Northwestern 80 Nicholls 59
The Lady Colonels contest against Northwestern was a polar opposite of the game they played against ULM, as the home standing Demons took early control and never looked back en route to posting a 21-point victory Thursday night.
When play began, Northwestern quickly built a double-digit lead. Eventually, Northwestern took as large as a 16-point lead before finishing the half with a 39-30 advantage.
The second half saw much the same, as Northwestern never saw its lead dip below double-figures.
Leading the way for the Lady Colonels in the scoring column were Schreiter and Tiffany Nearing. Schreiter finished with 14, while Nearing recorded 10.
