The McNeese St. Cowboys fought off a couple of furious rallies by the eighth seeded Nicholls St. Colonels to hold off and win a game that was tight throughout. With the win they advance to the Southland Conference Semifinals. The Colonels started the game on a 7-1 run, but gradually the top seeded Cowboys got back into the game behind their balanced attack. Diego Kapelan, Patrick Richard, and C.J. Collins all scored in double figures for the Cowboys, as did reserve guard Stephan Martin.
Anatoly Bose was dominant in the loss, with a game-high 25 points on 8-16 shooting, as well as nine rebounds. Outside of Bose and Chris Talkington, no other Colonel scored more than six points in the loss. Nicholls State finishes the season with a perfectly even 14-14 record, including 8-8 in conference.
McNeese State will face the winner of the Texas St. Bobcats – Southeastern Louisiana Lions game, which will tip shortly from Katy. They’ll be in the late semi-final game tomorrow at 8:30 PM CT.