The men’s basketball team’s season came to an end last week in an opening round loss to Sam Houston State in the 2010 Southland Conference Tournament. Junior guard Anatoly Bose had 40 points, but it was not enough, as the Bearkats outscored the Colonels 62-57. His 40 points was a career-high in a non-overtime game, just six points shy of the career-high 46 points he posted in a double overtime loss at Northwestern State earlier this season.

Even though his performance did not garner a win for the Colonels, Bose landed himself on the All-Tournament Team. He was also named first team All-Southland Conference.

With the loss to Sam Houston, the Colonels ended their season with an 11-19 record. Sam Houston went on to win the tournament and earned an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.

“I’m very proud of our guys,” head coach J.P. Piper said. “I think we gave Sam Houston everything they could handle. We played the style of game that we wanted, but they were just a little bit better tonight. They were a little bit tougher down the stretch and got some shots to fall and got to the line, and that was the difference in the ballgame.”

This was a very trying season for the Colonels after opening the season on the road with an eight-game losing streak. Nicholls then found themselves on the wrong end of some close conference games. The Colonels saw their six-game home winning streak snapped by instate rival Southeastern Louisiana.

However, there were also some highlights in the season.

The Colonels were able to battle their way into the final conference tournament spot with a 73-61 win over Lamar March 6. This was the second time in school history they qualified for back-to-back tournament appearances.

With the season over, the Colonels look toward a bright future next year. They will not lose a single person to graduation.

Sophomore forward Fred Hunter, who received honorable mention honors to the 2010 All-Southland team, will return along with Bose and other experienced players.

The combination of experienced starters and seasoned bench players will help the Colonels tremendously, heading into next season.

Fans can look for the 2010-2011 Colonels to continue their success as they compete for a regular season title in addition to a tournament title and a bid into the NCAA Tournament.