Northwestern State’s attempts to burn Nicholls State fell short Saturday ending with a Colonel victory of 85-69. The men’s basketball team played Northwestern State immediately following the women’s game. The Colonels previous match against Northwestern State was a win.
Senior point guard Justin Payne and sophomore guard Kellan Carter are both ranked 13th in the nation for steals per game.
“I felt that we had a good chance because we had confidence from the last game going to their place and winning,” Payne said.
Even though it was against the same opposing team, Nicholls’ players know that each individual game is different.
“I felt that we played with more passion and intensity this time,” Carter said.
The intensity from the players also affected others off the court. Northwestern State’s coach earned a technical foul for being on the court, trying to wipe up a spill, and not moving after the referee’s warning.
Carter and Payne led the way in steals on defense, but said it was not just an individual ranking, but a ranking that came from true team effort between the two players.
“Our ranking means our defensive system is right,” Carter said. “I don’t like to look at individual rankings because you have to play defense as a team.”
Payne said that defense wins games and that they take defense very seriously.
“We just go out, stick to our defensive principles and give one hundred and ten percent every night,” Payne said.
Carter agreed and said, “The games are easier because practice is more intense.”
Even though the team has a great defense, there are still aspects in which the team struggles.
“Normally we’re not an outstanding free-throw shooting team, so tonight, to shoot 85 percent is huge in a critical game,” head coach J.P. Piper said. “We urged our guys to fight that fight and get to the rim to finish plays and they did a good job of coming through on that.”
The coach and team were pleased with their win against the Demons.
“We challenged our guys to be tougher about getting to the rim and making Northwestern State work harder defensively. I thought we stepped up and did a great job of that in the second half,” Piper said.
The confidence in the team is not only in coach Piper but also within the team itself.
“We feel confident,” Payne said. “We go into every game and try to keep our swag and feel like we have a good chance because we feel like we are the best in our conference.”
“We got to the free-[throw] line and got to the rim and finished plays. A couple of times it seemed like Northwestern State would get some momentum going and then we’d hit a big three and back them off,” Piper said.
The team, especially Carter, is looking forward to facing its next opponent and showing them exactly what kind of team they are.
“We will come out with the same intensity we did last game and just grind them up,” Carter said.
The team looks to get their next win on Saturday against Southeastern Louisiana in Hammond with a tip-off at 3 p.m.
