'Jacks Travel To Centenary
12/15/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 15, 2004
SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS: SFA travels to Shreveport, La. to take on the Centenary Gents Saturday, following a week off for final exams. Both teams enter Saturday's game with identical 2-5 records and riding a streak - a losing streak for the `Jacks and a two game winning streak for the Gents. SFA lost at home last Saturday for the first time since early in the 2002 season to extend its losing streak to three straight. The loss snapped a 31-game home court winning streak, which established a new coliseum record and was the nation's longest entering the season. Following four solid performances to open the year, SFA has fallen into a shooting and scoring slump that has seen their shooting percentages plummet. SFA was shooting an even 50 percent through the first four games, but has shot only 38 percent from the field during the current three game skid. SFA was shooting .481 from beyond the three point arc over the first four, but since has connected on only 20 percent (6-30). The `Jacks also opened the year scoring an average of 73.8 points per game, but have scored only 52.0 points per game over the last three.
THE LAST GAME: SFA fell to 2-5 overall with a 58-54 home loss to Jackson State. The loss snapped a string of 31 straight wins at home for the Lumberjacks, a new coliseum record. More importantly, the loss ran the `Jacks record to 2-5 and extended SFA's losing streak to three straight. Taylor Moore picked up his second straight start and led SFA with 17 points while F Anthony Paez added 11 for the `Jacks. G Marcus Clark scored eight points for the `Jacks, but was only 1-7 from the field scoring six of his eight points at the free throw line. In spite of spotty play, the Lumberjacks had the game tied with less than a minute to play before the Tigers got a basket with :24 to play to lift them into the lead. Clark had a chance to force overtime with seconds remaining, but his shot was blocked and the Tigers added another bucket for the final margin.
VS. THE OPPONENT: Centenary leads the overall series, 19-16. The teams have met three times since Danny Kaspar took over the Lumberjack program with the Gents winning two of the three games and both games played in The Gold Dome. The teams split a home-and-home series last season with Centenary winning in Shreveport, 65-62 and SFA bouncing back to win in Nacogdoches, 70-58.
THE OPPONENT: The Gents enter Saturday's game with a 2-5 mark on the season, but has won two straight, both at home, over Arkansas Baptist and UL-Monroe. Centenary is 2-0 in The Gold Dome this year. F Chad Maclies, a 6-5 senior from Kingwood, leads the team in scoring with a 19.6 ppg average. G Tyrone Hamilton, a 6-2 freshman from Shreveport, La. is also adding 10.6 ppg for the Gents. Centenary is averaging 66.6 points per game while allowing opponents 81.0 ppg.
THE COACHES: The Lumberjacks are coached by Danny Kaspar (285-106) in his fifth year with the Lumberjacks. Kaspar is 66-54 at SFA. The fifth year head coach can move past Ned Fowler into fifth place on the all-time wins list with 13 more wins this year. Centenary is coached by Kevin Johnson (64-81) in his sixth year with the Gents. Kaspar is 1-2 vs. Centenary, Johnson is 2-1 vs. the `Jacks.
UP NEXT: The Lumberjacks return home for the first of four straight against Alabama A&M Monday night. SFA closes out 2004 against Howard Payne Dec. 30, then opens 2005 with Houston Baptist Jan. 3. ™
