SFA Takes on Louisiana-Lafayette
2/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 17, 2006
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjack basketball team has been hot on the road lately. SFA has gone 5-5 on the road overall this season but has won four consecutive Southland Conference road games to move to 4-2 in league away games. The Lumberjacks (13-9, 6-6) will take a break from conference play this weekend, but will stay on the road for a game at Louisiana-Lafayette. The contest is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. from the Cajundome in Lafayette, La. The game is the end result of a process that began last fall when both SFA and Louisiana-Lafayette were chosen as part of the ESPN BracketBusters pool. The teams were paired together last month when match-ups for the event were announced, but the game will not be one of the 13 nationally televised contests.
LAST GAME: The Lumberjacks won their third straight Southland Conference game and their fourth consecutive SLC road contest with an 82-76 decision at McNeese State. SFA led by as many as 26 points before the Cowboys mounted a second-half rally and cut the margin to six. But the Lumberjacks held on down the stretch, thanks largely to solid free throw shooting by Gerald Fonzie, who replaced the injured Marcus Clark at point guard. Josh Alexander scored a game-high 25 points before fouling out late in the second half.
VS. LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE: Saturday's game will be the first meeting between SFA and the Ragin' Cajuns since 1933. The schools have played four times with the Lumberjacks winning all four.
THE RAGIN' CAJUNS: Louisiana-Lafayette currently ranks fifth in the Sun Belt Conference West Division, but the Ragin' Cajuns (9-15, 5-8) have been one of the league's hottest teams, of late. Louisiana-Lafayette has won four of its last five games, the only loss in that stretch being a 75-73 double overtime defeat at Troy.
THE COACHES: Danny Kaspar is in his sixth season as head coach of the Lumberjacks. Including a nine-year stint as head coach at Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Kaspar is 308-125 (.711) over his 14-year coaching career. Kaspar has guided the Lumberjacks to an 89-73 (.549) mark during his tenure. Robert Lee is 29-26 in two seasons as head coach at Louisiana-Lafayette.
UP NEXT: The Lumberjacks will wrap up their current three-game road swing with a game at Texas-San Antonio on Feb. 23. The contest is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. from the Convocation Center in San Antonio. ™ NOTE: For complete game notes, click on the "Weekly Release" link in the side bar of the men's basketball home page.
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