Stephen F. Austin
Northwestern St*
'Jacks Take Out Northwestern State, 75-63
3/7/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 7, 2003
NACOGDOCHES, Texas (AP) - B.J. Banks scored 19 points to lead Stephen F. Austin to a 75-63 victory against Northwestern State on Friday night, to close out the regular season. The 'Jacks moved to 20-7 overall, the first 20-win season for SFA since the 1986-87 season when SFA went 22-8 and advanced to the NIT tournament.
Jasen Gast and Stevin Ozier had 13 points apiece for Stephen F. Austin (20-7, 16-4 Southland). Taylor Moore grabbed 12 rebounds and scored six points.
Northwestern State (6-21, 6-14) was led by Jermaine Wallace, who scored 17 points. Jermaine Spencer added 14.
The game was tied 30-30 at halftime but Stephen F. Austin took the lead for good in the second half when Banks hit a three point shot with 15:55 remaining to put SFA up 37-34 at the 16:59 mark of the second half. SFA led by 12 with just under 10 minutes to play and was never really threatened again down the stretch.
SFA finishes the regular season in second place with a 16-4 Southland Conference record and will receive a first round bye in the postseason tournament which begins Monday. The 'Jacks will return to action Wednesday night in a semifinal game beginning at 7:00 p.m., facing the highest remaining seed in the tournament.
