While most students were enjoying the Mardi Gras break and festivities, the Colonels were continuing their success in competitive play. They have won two of the last three games. On Feb. 21, the Colonels were victimized by a Texas State second half rally that forced overtime and an eventual Colonel loss.
“Hopefully this loss is good for us,” head coach J.P. Piper said. “The guys need to wallow in this and let it sting and hurt. We had it right where we wanted it and let it slip out of your hands. The challenge in the locker room after the game was to either learn from this and profit from it and get stronger down the stretch or this could be the beginning of the end.”
Senior Ryan Bathie and sophomore Anatoly Bose led the Colonels in the game with 21 points each.
Feb. 25 at Central Arkansas, Bose hit two free throws with less than ten seconds to secure a Colonel win.
“I told myself before the game that it was probably going to be this type of game, in that it was more important for me to be a cheerleader than a coach and that we just needed to squeeze as much effort and energy out of our guys as possible.” Piper said. “I knew it would be ugly, but our guys just needed to be encouraged no matter how frustrated we, as coaches, got tonight.”
The win clinched a berth in the Southland Conference Tournament. Bose was the leading scorer with 20 points. The Colonels forced 22 turnovers including 13 steals. Sophomore Kellan Carter had a career high seven steals.
The latest Colonel game Feb. 28 was another victory.
McNeese State drained a three-pointer with three seconds remaining to send the game into overtime. A prolific three-point shooting exhibition aided the Colonels with their win.
The Colonels hit seven of 11 three-point shots in the second half and 4 of 4 in overtime. The Colonels had 23 assists in the game and freshman Chris Iles tied a career high with five assists. Senior Ryan
Bathie and Justin Payne led the Colonels with 19 points each.
“I thought the first team to miss in OT was going to be the team that lost, but we had some big plays when it mattered and came out on top,” said Piper.
The Colonels success also carried over to their coaching staff.
Piper received word earlier in the week that he is one of ten finalists for the Hugh Durham Coach of the Year Award. This award is given to the nation’s top mid-major coach and is voted on by a 20-member panel with the winner presented at the 2009 Final Four in Detroit.
“Coach Piper is certainly deserving of this award based on the turnaround season the Colonels have had this year,” Nicholls athletic director Rob Bernardi said. “I could not be more pleased for him personally because I know that he has struggled through some difficult times as the program experienced growth. It’s great to see the program reach this level of recognition and see J.P. be recognized for this.”
The other nine finalists are Duggar Baucom (VMI), Randy Bennett (St. Mary’s), Todd Bozeman (Morgan State), Ed Conroy (The Citadel), Brad Greenberg (Radford), Ben Jacobson (Northern Iowa), Saul Phillips (North Dakota State), Randy Rahe (Weber State) and Brad Stevens (Butler).
The Colonels will play its final home game of the 2008-2009 season Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. The team will host Texas Arlington.
