Fast start, key plays down the stretch allow Colonels to move to 2-0 in the SLC

Nicholls never trailed in its 66-61 win Tuesday night on Broussard Court at Stopher Gym over visiting Southeastern Louisiana but the Colonels faced several key moments down the stretch.

The Lions trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half and managed to dwindle the Colonels’ lead down to two points 63 seconds into the second half. Nicholls went on to rebuild a lead of as much as 10 points before SLU rallied again, this time to within three points with less than four minutes remaining in the game.

As the margin remained between three and four points down the stretch, and each time the Lions attempted to get even closer, the Colonels responded in a big way.

A basket off an offensive rebound by SLU’s Brody Rowbury cut the Nicholls lead down to three points at 55-52. Nicholls’ Diante Smith quickly answered with a 3-pointer. After the Lions cut the deficit to four points, Rob Brown followed with another 3-pointer, giving the Colonels a 61-54 edge.

Up by only four points once again, Jamal West hit two free throws after being fouled following an offensive rebound.

A 3-pointer by Southeastern’s Nick Caldwell made it a 63-60 game.

The Lions had possession of the ball with a chance to tie the game with a 3-pointer with less than a minute remaining in the game. SLU elected to go inside to Rowbury down low. Mekhi Collins blocked the big man’s shot with 23.7 seconds left in the game.

West hit the first of two free-throw attempts to up the lead to four points as Nicholls went on to take the 66-61 win.

“I told the guys in the locker room; it was some guys’ night on Saturday and who’s guys it wasn’t. Tonight, it was some other guys. I have good players. That’s from having a good team. We are able to spread the wealth. I was extremely proud of my guys, not only for making the shot, but having the confidence to actually take those shots,” Nicholls coach Tevon Saddler said.

Nicholls moved to 2-0 in the Southland Conference and 7-8 overall following Tuesday’s win and a road victory over Houston Christian last Saturday. Southeastern fell to 1-1 in the conference and 6-9 overall.

“If you look back at the history, Nicholls has won three of the last six championships. I had the pleasure of being a part of two. We’re right where we’re supposed to be. I think we were supposed to be 2-0. I tell the guys enjoy this one until tomorrow morning. We’ve got to get ready to go on Saturday. We have to protect the crib,” said Saddler.

“Getting off to a 2-0 start in conference is very important. I feel like it kind of sends a message to the rest of the conference that we’re here to stay,” Brown said.

“It’s a great feeling. We got one on the road. It’s hard to win on the road. It’s hard to win a college game, period. We won on the road and got one at the crib. We have to keep it going,” West said.

At 6-foot-6, 225-pounds, West gave up both height and bulk to Rowbury, SLU’s 6-foot-11, 290-pound inside presence.

“It was definitely challenging,” West said of facing Rowbury. “It was definitely new to me. right now. Next time we play them, I definitely will prepare for him. It took a little different getting used to.

“He’s really mobile. He had really good feet, but really soft hands,” Saddler said of Rowbury.

West aggressively drove the lane to open the game, was fouled, and hit two free throws. On the Colonels’ next possession, West drove to the basket again. He was fouled as he made the shot. He hit his free throw to put Nicholls on top 5-0.

West ended up going to the free-throw line 13 times, hitting eight from the charity stripe.

“I know that (Rowbury’s) slow. He’s not going to be able to move his feet or keep up. He can’t really jump that high. He’s 290. He will not do a lot of lifting off the floor. You’ve got to get to that line,” said West.

Only 61 seconds into the game, the Lions called a timeout.

The quick break in the action didn’t stop the Colonels’ momentum. Following the timeout, Nicholls outscored SLU 16-5 to build an 11-point edge at 16-5 following a 3-pointer by Brown at the 14:02 mark of the first half.

“We saw a couple of things on film that we wanted to exploit early in the game. I thought we’ve been getting off the slow starts. I was proud of the way we started tonight. We’ve got to keep it going, though,” said Saddler.

“I feel like during practice, Coach (Saddler) definitely told us about that, and I feel like that was one of our objectives coming in is to get off to a good start, especially because they were preseason No. 1 (in the Southland). I think we feel like we should be No. 1, so there was a lot of energy and emotion behind the game. I think that it was a point of emphasis and I think we did a good job coming out with a hot start,” Brown said.

While Nicholls was knocking down shots, the Colonels’ defense was shutting down the Lions’ offense. Southeastern didn’t hit double-figuring scoring as a team until the 8:36 mark of the second half on a layup by Roscoe Eastmond to make the score 20-10.

“I challenged the guys defensively. Sometimes now we get so messed up about making shots – and that’s something I harp on – defensively, want that to be our identity. If we make shots, that’s a bonus, but I want our identity to be built on toughness and defense. I was proud of the way they just came out, starting the game and getting kills. I always use the word ‘unify.’ I was proud of how we were unified tonight,” said Saddler.

The biggest lead of the game for Nicholls came at 16 points on a Brown 3-pointer at the 4:30 mark of the first half.

Nicholls suddenly went cold following Brown’s long-range shot, going a span of 3:46 seconds without a basket. When West hit a free throw with 44 seconds left in the half, the Lions had cut the deficit to eight points with the Colonels holding on to lead 32-26 at halftime.

“I feel like it was just a little disconnection. I feel like we stayed stagnant on the perimeter. On offense, we stopped cutting for a little bit, but we brought in during halftime and we came in as a team and we definitely talked about it and I think that’s why we came out to a good start in the second half,” said Brown.

“I thought we got a little stagnant at the end of the first half, similar to like we did at the end of the half against Maryland. I talked to the guys in the locker room. When you guard and get four kills in half, that gives you cushion,” Saddler said.

The Lions scored the first two baskets of the second half to get to within two points, but the Colonels never surrendered the lead the remainder of the game.