Strong Second Half Lifts Nicholls State Over Tulane
Nov 26, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 26, 2010
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THIBODAUX, La. - Nicholls State's strong second half proved too much for the Tulane men's basketball team on Friday night, falling, 66-52, to the Colonels in Stopher Gym.
"We missed some free throws and we had some possessions on the offensive end that were not pretty in the first half and turned the ball over and didn't share nearly as well as we should," Tulane head coach Ed Conroy said. "Then we wanted to become too quick in the second half. Things did not go our way for a few minutes and we hung our heads for a little bit and that can't be the case."
After tying the score with a lay-up with less than 0:02 remaining in the first half, Nicholls State (2-2) took momentum into the locker room. Momentum came back out with the Colonels as well and helped them score the first seven points of the second half to take a 27-20 lead just minutes into the half.
Tulane (3-2) did not get on the board in the second half until Ben Cherry knocked down a 3-pointer with 17:32 left in the game. That made the score 27-23. Nicholls State then scored the next six points to take their first double digit lead of the game.
The Green Wave did chip away and cut the NSU lead down to three, 41-38, with 6:10 left after a 3-pointer by Kris Richard. Tulane then cut the deficit to two when Johnny Mayhane drained a three from the top of the key, but NSU used a 5-0 run to retake a five-point lead.
Another 3-pointer by Richard with 3:29 remaining cut the deficit back to two, 49-47, but a pair of clutch 3-pointers by Nicholls' Kenny Franklin on back-to-back possessions sealed the victory. Richard's third 3-pointer of the game with 0:15 remaining were all Tulane would score in the final minutes.
Richard finished the game with 12 points and Kendall Timmons led the way with 14. Anatoly Bose led all scorers with 23 points for NSU. Fred Hunter added 15 points, all in second half, and Franklin finished with 12.
Tulane led for the final five minutes of the opening half, including its largest lead, 20-16, with 2:25 left.
The Green Wave shot just 35.4 percent from the floor in the half and hit 44.0 percent in the second half. Tulane hit six of 17 3-pointers and connected on 12 of 18 free throws.
Nicholls won the battle of the boards, 33-27, led by Bose' eight. The Colonels shot 50.0 percent from the floor in the game, including 65.4 percent in the final 20 minutes.
"We lost our resolve on the defensive end and that was disappointing," Conroy said. "We need to be better. This is a painful loss, but this will make us better in the long run."
Tulane returns home for a two-game home stand starting Tuesday when Alabama State visits Fogelman Arena for a 7 p.m. CST tip.