Colonels aim to knock off first-place McNeese when teams meet Saturday

Only a week ago, no one could imagine just how important Nicholls’ win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi would actually be.

The Colonels’ men’s basketball team went into play last week against Lamar and Corpus Christi facing the only teams that had beaten them in Southland Conference play earlier in the season.

Nicholls went into last week 7-2 in the SLC, the same record as Corpus Christi. Lamar was 6-3.

Lamar’s win created a long jam near the top of the Southland standings and dropped Nicholls a bit further behind league-leading McNeese, which sported only one loss.

Nicholls’ 67-63 home win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, coupled with Incarnate Word’s 76-67 upset of Lamar, left the Colonels all alone in second place.

Now, the Colonels host McNeese at 3 p.m. Saturday. With the teams meeting again March 2 in Lake Charles, Nicholls has positioned itself to perhaps catch, and even pass, the Cowboys in the standings.

“I think Will (Wade) does a heck of a job over there, but it’s no different than anybody else. I think it’s less about McNeese and more about us,” Nicholls coach Tevon Saddler said. “We’re in sole (possession) of second place and they are in first place. I’m excited that we get to do a heavyweight fight.”

“The last two games with the team that’s tied for second and another team that’s tied for second, now the first-place team,” continued Saddler, referring to the current three-game stretch concluding with McNeese. “We’ll be battle-tested. It will be good. I hope everyone comes out on Saturday at 3:00. As a competitor, I like to see people at their best, and I’m excited.”

Wade, who recently signed a contract extension worth $700,000 per season, is in his first year as coach at McNeese. His prior head coaching stints included Chattanooga, Virginia Commonwealth, and LSU

In the Colonels’ win over the Islanders, Nicholls trailed by as many as five points in the first half and led by as many as 11 in the second half.

With Nicholls holding only a three-point lead at 60-57 with 49 seconds left in the game following a 3-pointer by the Corpus Christi’s Lance-Amir Paul, the game was in doubt.

Playing a bit of keep-away to run down the clock, Nicholls’ Byron Ireland finally drove to the basket. He scored and the play and was fouled. Ireland hit the free throw to put the Colonels up by six points with 23 seconds left in the game.

Dayne Prim had a tip-in to make things interesting, but Diante Smith hit two free throws and Colonels went on to a 67-63 win.

Meanwhile, McNeese cruised in its win Monday over Houston Christian.

The Cowboys jumped out to an early 20-4 lead on the way to a 105-54 win HCU. The win improved McNeese to 11-1 in the Southland and 22-3 overall. The win tied the school record for most wins in a season with the 2000-01 team.

McNeese has shown why it is the top team so far in the Southland. The Cowboys lead the conference in scoring offense, scoring defense, field goal percentage, and 3-point shooting percentage.

The Cowboys are averaging 80.5 points per game while allowing 63.8. McNeese is knocking down their field goals at a 48.3 percent clip and connecting on 40.3 percent of is shots from 3-point range.,

Leading the McNeese offense is Shahada Wells, who ranks eighth in the SLC in scoring, averaging 15.3 points per game.

Christian Shumate is second on the team in scoring, averaging 12 points and leads the team in rebounding, pulling down 9.5 rebounds per outings.

Other double-figure scorers for McNeese include Javohn Garcia at 11.8 points per contest, and D.J. Richards at 10.3.

Wells is fifth in the conference in field goal percentage, connecting on 53.5 percent of his shots. Richards paces the conference in 3-point shooting, knocking down 46 percent of his shots from distance. Shumate in second in the SLC in rebounding, averaging 9.5 boards per contest.

Nicholls has two of the top 10 scorers in the conference. Smith ranks second at 17 points per game, and Rob Brown seventh at 15.7.

Three Colonels are among the Top 10 in field goal percentage. Jamal West is second at a 52.9 percent clip, Brown fourth at 45 percent, and Smith ninth at 41.9 percent.

Smith is second in 3-point percentage at 43.1 percent, and Brown fourth at 39.3 percent.

Smith also ranks sixth in the SLC in rebounding with 6.8 rebounds per contest, while West is eighth at 6.6.

The Colonels play at the University of New Orleans at 7 p.m. Monday. The Privateers entered the week tied for ninth in the 10-team league at 3-9 and sported an 8-17 overall record, host Lamar on Saturday.

UNO is third in the Southland in scoring offense at 75.4, but last in scoring defense, allowing 82.9 points per game. The Privateers are ninth in the conference in rebounding, averaging 33.5 rebounds per contest.

The Privateers feature the league’s top scorer in Jordan Johnson, who is averaging 22.4 points per game. Khaleb Wilson-Rouse is averaging 12.1 points per game, and Tyson Jackson 10.8. Jackson leads the team in rebounding, pulling down 6.3 boards per outing.

Jordan is eighth in the league in 3-point shooting, hitting on 42.3 percent of his shots and fifth in 3-point accuracy, connected on 38.9 percent of his shots.

Jackson is seventh in rebounding, averaging 6.7 per contest.