Stephen F. Austin
Mcneese State*
Lumberjacks Rally Past McNeese
1/14/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 14, 2006
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Senior point guard Marcus Clark returned to the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjack lineup, Saturday, two days after a lower back injury forced him to miss a game for the first time in his collegiate career. To make sure Clark didn't re-aggravate his sore back, classmate Anthony Paez put SFA on his own back and scored a game-high 22 points in the Lumberjacks' 64-57 come-from-behind win over McNeese State in the William R. Johnson Coliseum.
Fourteen of Paez's 22 points came in the second half, when SFA erased what had at one time been a 20-point McNeese State lead. The win stopped a four-game losing streak for the Lumberjacks (8-6, 1-3) and gave them their first Southland Conference victory of the year. The Cowboys fell to 8-7 overall and 3-1 in conference action.
Paez's second-half performance was one of many noteworthy showings by the Lumberjacks after halftime. The first half was not so kind to the 'Jacks. SFA went to the half down 10 (27-17), after shooting 19 percent from the floor in the first half. The Lumberjacks were 0-for-5 on 3-point attempts in the opening period. McNeese State, meanwhile, shot 40 percent from the field and 55.6 percent from 3-point range. SFA opened the game in an 0-for-11 slump and found itself down, 17-4, before junior guard Chaz Dykes hit a jump shot at the 10-minute mark. McNeese State then went on a 10-1 run to go ahead by 20 points with 5:18 left in the half. But the Cowboys would not score another point in the half, and SFA whittled away at the lead until it dwindled down to 10 points.
The Lumberjacks found new life in the second half. SFA played relentless defense and harassed the Cowboys into nine turnovers and a 34.6 percent showing from the field. After trading buckets with McNeese for the first 10 minutes, the Lumberjacks finally took the lead with a 10-1 run that started on a Keith Hardaway 3-pointer and was capped by a Marcus Clark layup that put SFA on top, 42-41, with seven minutes to play.
The Cowboys mustered one-point leads twice in the game's closing minutes, but SFA retook the lead both times. A J.T. Williams 3-pointer with 1:37 left brought McNeese to within one point (55-54). But Paez scored his four biggest points of the night with back-to-back jumpers in the lane on the next two SFA possessions to put the Lumberjacks ahead by five with 32 seconds left, slamming the door on McNeese.
Paez finished the contest 9-of-14 from the field. He also recorded five rebounds and three assists. Three Lumberjacks joined him in double figures. Freshman guard Josh Alexander scored 12 points - 10 of them coming in the second half - Clark scored 11 and freshman forward Matt Kingsley added 10. Clark was nearly perfect from the foul line, hitting 9-of-10 free throws. Kingsley scored nine of his points after halftime to reach double digits in scoring for the third time in his career. He also tied for the team lead with three steals and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds. Alexander was second for the 'Jacks in rebounding with seven.
Williams scored 19 points to lead the Cowboys. Dwight Boatner added 15. Each of the two leading scorers for McNeese State hit four 3-pointers in the contest.
Despite a rough first half, SFA went on to out-perform McNeese State in most major statistical categories. The 'Jacks won the rebounding battle, 42-35, and finished at plus-two in the turnover margin (19 forced, 17 committed). SFA also hit 24 free throws to the Cowboys' nine and outshot McNeese State at the foul stripe, 77 percent to 50 percent.
SFA will try to keep its newfound momentum rolling Thursday, when the Lumberjacks travel to San Marcos to take on Texas State. The contest is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m.
- SFA -
