The SLU men’s basketball team held on down the stretch to defeat the SLC rival Nicholls Colonels on Saturday afternoon, breaking a four-game losing streak and recording its second victory of the new year.
The winter has proven quite frigid for the Lions this season; since a Dec. 7 loss to Northwestern State, SLU has gone 3-12, a miserable run featuring a mix of blowout losses and close defeats. After Saturday’s win, Head Coach David Kiefer and the players acknowledged needing to close out games better and begin turning some of these close losses into victories.
“We’ve folded under pressure the last couple of games…[we’ve] had some really good practices and were finally able to carry that over to the game,” Kiefer said.
Neither team was effective offensively during the first half, but SLU came out particularly slow in front of the home crowd, shooting 32.26% across the first 20 minutes.
The Colonels threatened to pull away after building a 19-13 lead during a frigid 1/8 stretch from the field for the Lions. However, timely buckets from sophomore guard Makhi Myles, who poured in 11 of his 13 points in the first half, alongside solid free-throw shooting from fifth-year forward Isaiah Gaines, kept the rivalry bout close.
“I really just took my time. I let everything come to me…they weren’t playing aggressively, so I just took my chances,” Myles said.
SLU’s defense made critical adjustments as the first half waned, holding the Colonels to just 6 points in the last four minutes. SLU hustled to the locker room down 32-28 at the half.
Junior guard Peter Hemschemeier led a scorching Lions offense in the second half, where the green and gold outscored Nicholls 39-29. Hemschemeier did much of the damage himself, knocking down a flurry of jumpers to swing momentum toward the home team.
The Paderborn, Germany native’s third three-pointer of the half put SLU up 53-43 with under nine minutes to play. What seemed to be a lopsided SLU victory began to sour, however, as the hot shooting began to cool off. The Lions spent much of the second half shooting nearly 70% from the field; by the game’s end, that high mark plummeted to around 42%.
Cold shooting cracked open the door to a Nicholls comeback, which was seemingly materializing as the clock waned. A 10-3 run from the foes down the bayou cut SLU’s lead to three. This was an opportunity for Kiefer and the team to close out a tight game against a key rival, which they did, forcing crucial misses and hitting clutch free throws to keep Nicholls just out of reach.
A missed three-pointer from Nicholls guard Jalik Dunkley that would have cut SLU’s lead to one and free throws from Hemschemeier and senior guard Jalen Forrest sealed a desperately needed victory for the green and gold, 67-61. It wasn’t pretty, but the team managed to close out a tight game, and they’ll look to build on this victory for the remainder of the season.
Hemschemeier expressed gratitude for his teammates and emphasized playing as a cohesive unit is critical for long term success.
“I just love every single guy…we know we have a higher level, so we have to continue to grind and stick together,” he said.
SLU stays home tonight for a match against McNeese, the current No. 2 seed in the SLC. While the Lions currently sit at the bottom of the conference, a win over the Cowboys could help change the trajectory of their season and get them closer to a conference tournament berth.
Fans can watch live at 6 p.m. in the University Center or listen live on 90.9 The Lion.
