SFA Looking for Three Straight
12/5/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 5, 2006
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjack basketball team is coming off its second straight victory and looking to make it three in a row for the first time this season when it hosts North Texas Wednesday. The game is set for a 7 p.m. start from the William R. Johnson Coliseum. UNT (5-2) is the first of two straight home opponents for the Lumberjacks (4-3).
Last Game: SFA picked up its first road victory of the season and won back-to-back games for the first time all season when it collected a 73-64 win at Southern University. After taking a four-point lead to halftime, the Lumberjacks led by as many as 20 points in the second half. Three days after recording a season-best six turnovers against Texas College, SFA continued to improve its ball-handling, comitting just 12 turnovers against the Jaguars, the second-lowest total for the Lumberjacks this year. Sophomore forward Josh Alexander scored 20 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to record the fourth double-double of his young career. Senior center Antuane Miller tied Alexander for the team lead in scoring with 20 points of his own.
vs. North Texas: The Lumberjacks and the Mean Green have met 68 times with the series split right down the middle at 34 games apiece. The bulk of the series history was accumulated when the teams were foes in the Southland Conference. North Texas left the Southland following the 1995-96 season, and, prior to last year, the two teams had not met since that year. The Lumberjacks have won seven of the last 10 regular-season meetings, but UNT has taken the last three in a row.
The Mean Green: North Texas enters Wednesday's game with a 5-2 mark. The Mean Green is coming off a 76-57 loss at Nebraska that halted a three-game win streak. A former Southland Conference member, UNT has played two SLC schools this season. The Mean Green defeated Texas State, 95-77, but lost to Texas-Arlington, 83-81. UNT is 2-1 in road games with wins at Charlotte and Rice.
The Coaches: Danny Kaspar is in his seventh season as the head basketball coach at SFA. Kaspar is 97-79 (.551) in his time with the Lumberjacks. He is 316-131 (.707) in 15 seasons as a collegiate head coach. North Texas is in its sixth season under head coach Johnny Jones. Jones is 54-66 (.450) through five years with the Mean Green and holds a 69-82 (.457) record in six seasons overall.
Up Next: The Lumberjacks will host Louisiana-Lafayette Saturday, completing the first two-game home stand of the season. A nine-day layoff will follow, before SFA makes the trek to Edinburg, Texas, for a game against Texas-Pan American.
• For complete game notes, click on the link in the side bar of the men's basketball home page.
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