“Our goal this year is for us to have a successful season and for us to be able to get into post season,” senior point guard Justin Payne said. “Of course I want to win conference.”This quote from Payne was taken at the beginning of the season about the team’s goals. The Colonels met their goal for getting into post season; possibly better than expected.
The Colonels were ranked in the bottom of the pack in preseason polls. However, the team knew exactly how talented they were and were eager to kick off the season and show what they could do.
“We are going to be good,” freshman Phillip Ward said. “We have an offense that is hard to guard. We have the right people to win.”
Ward’s prediction could not have been more on the money with the Colonels finishing second in conference play with a 12-4 record.
The team could almost taste first place, knowing that if Stephen F. Austin lost their last conference game against Texas-San Antonio, the Colonels would be ranked number one. However, the Lumberjacks won the game with a four point advantage placing the Colonels in second place, higher than what preseason polls had them.
The Colonels made it into the Southland Conference Tournament for the first time since 2000. The Colonels were defeated in the second round of the tournament to sixth-ranked University of Texas-San Antonio with a score 57-55.
“I don’t think what happened tonight should diminish what we’ve accomplished this year,” head coach J.P. Piper said. “I’m very proud of my guys and the way they represented Nicholls tonight. We’re only going to get better. I think the program is in great shape and the future is very bright for the Colonels.”
Senior Ryan Bathie was able to lead his team for the last time with 18 points, two steals and four of six from three point range, as well as bring in a team high of seven rebounds.
Payne also left his mark with the Colonels with six points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
The Colonels kept a close game with the Roadrunners, losing the game by only two points with Bathie’s three-point shot at the buzzer. Free throw shots and made baskets that were not capitalized on were the deciding factors of the game.
“We missed a couple of free-throw opportunities and missed a layup,” Piper said. “Our guys were trying to win the game and trying to make a play, but if you put us in that same situation again tomorrow night, I’d have the exact same guys in there doing the exact same thing.”
Despite the Colonels loss, the team felt that they played a great game. The ending, however, is not what the Colonels had hoped would happen.
“I’m obviously very disappointed,” Piper said. “I felt like we had the game right where we wanted it. It was our type of game. UTSA came up with a couple of big plays in the last minute of the game that we weren’t able to rebound from.”
The Colonels did not get an invite to any of the post-season tournaments, making the loss in the second round the last Nicholls game for seniors Bathie and Payne.
The Colonels finish their season with a record of 21-11 overall and 12-4 in conference.
