Nicholls topples Pitt in 75-70 road hoops upset

PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Less than a week removed from forcing overtime at Illinois, the Nicholls State University men’s basketball program (1-1, 0-0 Southland) proved its giant-killing potential with a 75-70 victory over Pitt (1-1, 1-0 ACC) at the Petersen Events Center.

The win serves as the first Power Five victory for the Colonels since knocking off Boston College 79-73 in the 2016-17 season opener.

Individually, the Red & Gray found offensive production from a trio of veteran athletes, as redshirt senior G D’Angelo Hunter & redshirt junior G Andre Jones each dropped a team-high 17 points while junior G Kevin Johnson contributed a key 16; just four days ago at Illinois, all three of the aforementioned Colonels fouled out in the tight OT loss to the Fighting Illini with both Hunter & Jones taking a seat prior to the close of regulation.

KEY STORYLINES & STATISTICS
— Following a split-personality display — 29.6 percent first half shooting versus 54.6 percent in the second — at Illinois earlier this week, the Colonels composed a near-steady showing against the Panthers, opening the contest with a 50.0 percent (16-fo-32) performance before closing out the latter period at 33.3 percent (11-of-33). Overall, though, the Red & Gray set themselves apart from their hosts most clearly beyond the arc & at the free-throw line, outpacing Pitt by a significant margin at the three-point line (11-of-24, 45.8 percent vs. 4-of-16, 25.0 percent) and even more substantially at the charity stripe (10-of-13, 76.9 percent vs. 10-of-18, 55.6 percent).
— In a complete inversion of Illinois, the Colonels bolted out a lead just 58 seconds into the contest & never surrendered their advantage, pushing ahead by as much as 12 points (16:01 left in 2H) before the Panthers initiated their long recovery back into the game. Back-to-back layups within 10 seconds of each other closed the Nicholls edge to just one with 51 seconds remaining, but a jumper apiece from Jones & Dexter McClanahan combined with a pair of free throws from Warith Alatishe helped the Red & Gray seal the eventual five-point victory.
— Sophomore F Warith Alatishe once again notched a solid all-around performance in just his second start with the program, pulling down a squad-high eight rebounds while recording six points & four assists (team second-best) along the way.
— While redshirt senior G Dexter McClanahan was unable to follow up his 25-point showing at Illinois with another career day, the Georgia native managed to make serious contributions elsewhere as he paced the squad with five assists while crashing the glass hard, grabbing a team second-best five boards. The senior also recorded five points, including two jumpers at critical moments — the Colonels’ first points of the contest (which served as the game’s only lead change) along with a dagger late to repulse the Panther rally.
— As a team, the Red & Gray pulled down 19 offensive rebounds & posted 26 second-chance points, both game-highs as Pitt only managed 15 offensive boards with 14 second-chance points. Notably, the Colonels also forced 21 turnovers while surrendering just 17, securing another 26 points off those Panther miscues.

UP NEXT
Following a 1-1 split in the season-opening roadtrip, the Red & Gray head back south to Thibodaux to tip off their home schedule, hosting Paul Quinn College on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. in Stopher Gym.