Late in the second half of the game against the University of New Orleans, fifth year senior Fred Hunter, the men’s basketball team’s leading scorer who missed all of last year and the end of his junior season due to torn ACLs, went down with a hamstring injury. He should be available to play this weekend as the Colonels travel to East Lansing to compete against the 13th nationally ranked Michigan State Trojans.
Nicholls fended off a late push by the Privateers, eventually winning 92-79. At one point in the second half, Nicholls had amassed a 20 point lead.
Despite his absence from the final minutes of the game, Hunter finished with the game-high for points with 22, resulting in three consecutive games with 20 or more points.  He was held from returning to the game as a precaution to prevent worsening the hamstring. Hunter was one of five players who finished with double digits in points.
Those contributing with double digits were freshman forward JaMarkus Horace, who scored 17 points while adding four rebounds, sophomore guard Shane Rillieux totaled 13 points and sophomore forward Sam McBeath and freshman guard TJ Carpenter each added eleven points.
Head coach JP Piper was satisfied with his team’s offensive performance but believes they could have played better defensively to close out the game.
“I was pleased with how we scored the ball. We were balanced with five guys in double figures,” Piper said. “I am a little frustrated with our defense in the second half. We allowed them to score too easily, which enabled them to score 48 points in the second half. You have to give credit to the other team because they came out more aggressive, and we did not respond. So that is a valuable lesson to learn.”
This marks the first regular season win for the Colonels who now stand at 1-2 after a pair of very difficult games against staunch Southeastern Conference opponents.  Nicholls also hosted an exhibition game versus the University of Mobile that they won 73-53, which will not count as an official victory in their win total.
Against the SEC schools, the Colonels squared off against Vanderbilt University, ultimately losing 80-65. Less than a week later, the team had traveled to Columbia to play Missouri University, where they lost 54-74. In both outings, the team played well and kept pace with the competition.
Hunter enjoyed his experience playing against these big schools and said his team has learned a lot from the trip.
“I like playing against schools of that level because we take a lot from the experience,” Hunter said. “We learn a lot about ourselves, and it definitely makes us better because we are playing against better competition.”
Hunter’s desire to play better competition will be satisfied this weekend when the Colonels face Tom Izzo and Michigan State.  Izzo has coached the Spartans to seven Big Ten titles, six Final Fours and even a national championship in 2000.
Though Piper has coached against the likes of Roy Williams and Rick Barnes, he is still excited to travel to East Lansing to compete against Izzo and his team.
“Michigan State has a phenomenal tradition, and it is going to be an unbelievable challenge because they are ranked 15th in the country,” Piper said. “So I cannot wait to go test ourselves against their guys. We have nothing to lose so we intend to go in there and give them all we can. If we get a win, then good, but if not, we will learn some things about ourselves.”