This season the men’s team record is 9-20, and, at best, they can finish at 11-20 with wins over Lamar and McNeese State. The Colonels will look to bring their “A” game when they travel to Lamar, and they will have to depend on their perimeter passing and shooting accuracy to keep the Cardinal in the cage.
The men will travel on the road to Lamar to play the Cardinals March 6 at 7 p.m. and finish the season hosting McNeese State March 8 at 5 p.m.
Junior forward Ryan Bathie and company will look to play against Lamar like they did against the Bears last week.
For the first time in school history, the Colonels defeated Central Arkansas. As a team, Nicholls shot 40.8 percent from the floor, and Central Arkansas shot 34.0 percent. From downtown, the Colonels made 8 of 20 while the Bears sank 6 of 15 from three-point range.
The highlight of the game was Bathie being named the Southland Conference Player of the Week.
In the game against the Bears, he made his 200th and 201st career three-pointer to make him the sixth player in SLC history to reach the 200 milestone.
“The guys played well. We made big shots at critical points in the game, and made free throws down the stretch to secure the win,” coach J.P. Piper said.
This is the first time since Jan. 6, 2006, that a Nicholls men’s basketball player has won the award. Former Colonel Stefan Blaszczynski received the honor after helping Nicholls defeat Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State in the 2005-2006 season.
This season the Cardinals are 7-0 versus conference opponents when playing at home.
The Cardinals are averaging 82 points per game and giving up 73.1 points.
The Cardinals also have a dual threat in junior guard Kenny Dawkins and senior forward Lamar Sanders. Dawkins is averaging 14 points per game and leads the team with 382 points in 27 games played.
Also, Dawkins leads the conference in free throws, shooting 82 percent. Sanders is shooting 62 percent in field goals and leads the team with 30 block shots.
The Lady Colonels’ season record is 6-19 with two games left on the schedule.
They have not won a road game this season. Their overall record is 0-14.
The closest the ladies came to winning on the road was the second game of the season versus Tennessee State. The Colonels lost 63-61.
The Lamar Cardinals have an 8-6 conference record and are 16-13 overall.
The Cardinals are also leading the eastern division and averaging 65.2 points per game and are giving up 63.7 points per game.
The Lady Colonels will have to deal with the Cardinals’ triple threat-freshman guard Tamara Abalde, junior guard Nikki Williams and sophomore forward Brittney Williams.
Abalde is leading the team with 149 field goals, and Nikki leads the team with 160 attempts for three-pointers.
Brittney is leading the team with 119 free throw attempts made for the season.
The women will host Lamar in Stopher Gym March 6 at 2:30 p.m. For the final game, the ladies will travel to Lake Charles to play McNeese State March 8 at 4 p.m.
