The Nicholls State University men’s basketball team looks forward to bouncing back this Saturday against the University of the Incarnate Word Cardinals.

The Colonels have an overall record of 4-11 and 1-4 in the Southland Conference. The Colonels shot 15percent from behind the three-point line. Junior guard T.J Carpenter and sophomore forward Ja’Dante’ Frye lead the Colonels offensively with 10 points.

“We did not play well in the first half of the game nor did we play better in the second half of the game. By that time, the game was out of reach,” head coach J.P. Piper said.

According to Piper, Sam Houston is the best team in the Southland Conference with an overall record 14-4 and 6-0.

The Bearkats controlled the scoreboard the entire game except for the second half where they were down by four, but it was still not enough for the Colonels to take the lead. Sophomore guard Dakarai Henderson and sophomore forward Aurimas Majauskas lead SHS offensively with 12 points. Senior guard Jabari Peters finished with 11 rebounds.

“We didn’t compete enough in the beginning. If we started off right, the game would’ve been close. I believe we trailed by as many as 27 points,” sophomore Luka Kambler said. “The worst thing we could’ve done was stop playing and we didn’t have a good practice, so that affected us in the game. We just have to practice harder and get more focused during games.”

“We didn’t come out strong and it set the tone for the rest of the game. They executed very well, and we didn’t have a response. We weren’t focused mentally and it showed in the first half,” Carpenter said. “Our weakness was on the defensive end. We didn’t guard the whole possessions, which caused us to let up at the end of the shot clock and they got an easy bucket.”

Coach Piper has a vision that they can potentially become a team of caliber like Sam Houston.
“When you have a team full of freshmen and sophomores it’s hard to compete with a team full of juniors and seniors. We will continue to work to get better at the things we do,” Piper said.

The Colonels succeeded in taking the win over Central Arkansas. Frye and Quinton Thomas lead the Colonels to a victory of 71-61. Carpenter led the team with six rebounds.

The Colonels battle against Northwestern State ended with a score of 81-51. Frye lead offensively with 11 points and Liam Thomas with 10 points and five rebounds.

The Colonels hope to secure a win at home against Incarnate Word this Saturday.