Men’s basketball faced rough games after Stuff Stopher

After winning a close game in front of a packed crowd, the Nicholls State University men’s basketball team struggled to recapture momentum.

The Nicholls men’s basketball team won at home last Thursday, January 19, taking down Abilene Christian University with a final score of 62-59. The match against Abilene was the annual Stuff Stopher game, a matchup that brought in an attendance of 1468 total fans.

Senior Nicholls players Johnathan Bell and Ja’Dante’ Frye combined for 36 points against Abilene, with senior center Liam Thomas picking up 13 rebounds. The biggest stat differential for the Colonels came in the form of 13 blocks versus Abilene’s four.

The Colonels moved on to face Lamar University at home last Saturday, January 21, but saw defeat in the form of a 76-87 score line. Despite ending the first half with a four-point lead, Nicholls failed to keep up with Lamar in the second half, as they were then outscored 53-36.

The final game for the Colonels this week came in an 80-83 loss yesterday away at Houston Baptist University. Much like their game against Lamar, Nicholls ended the first half against HBU with a five-point lead but got outscored in the second half 43-35. A combined 42 points from Johnathan Bell and Ja’Dante Frye was not enough to match the more evenly spread score line from HBU.

The Colonels are still on the lookout for their first win since Stuff Stopher, and will return back home tomorrow to play against McNeese State University. McNeese is ranked one spot below the Colonels at eleventh in the Southland Conference, and thus provides a critical matchup if Nicholls wants to regain its footing in the conference rankings.

The most recent matchup between the two teams occurred during last season’s Southland Conference Tournament, where Nicholls defeated McNeese 94-90. Tipoff for tomorrow’s game is set for 6:30 p.m.