Stephen F. Austin
Texas State*
SFA Rolls Past Texas State
2/25/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 25, 2006
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Freshman guard Josh Alexander scored a game-high 20 points and pulled down a team-best eight rebounds to lead the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjack basketball team to a 70-59 win over Texas State, Saturday in the William R. Johnson Coliseum. Alxander hit 8-of-13 shots, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range to pace a 49-percent shooting effort by the Lumberjacks.
SFA trailed briefly in the early minutes. The Lumberjacks took their first lead at the 16-minute mark when senior point guard Marcus Clark was fouled on a layup and converted the three-point play. Texas State tied the score minutes later, but Alexander answered with a layup to put the 'Jacks in front, and SFA never looked back. The Lumberjacks went on a 22-5 run - punctuated by four 3-pointers - over the game's next nine minutes to take a 35-18 lead with 2:42 left in the half. SFA went to the locker room up by 18 (41-23), after shooting 55.6 percent from the field.
SFA's shooting cooled in the second half, but not enough to get Texas State back in the game. The Lumberjacks shot 40.9 percent after halftime, and the Bobcats never got closer than the 11-point final margin.
The Lumberjacks beat Texas State on the boards, 35-32, and held the Bobcats to 39.7 percent shooting. Clark and senior forward Anthony Paez joined Alexander in double figures with 15 and 10 points, respectively. Clark dished out a game-high nine assists and finished the game without a turnover.
Brandon Bush paced Texas State with 18 points. He went 7-of-11 from the field and hit 3-of-4 3-pointers. Charles Dotson scored 11 points, and JuShay Rockett recorded 10 rebounds for the Bobcats (3-22, 1-13).
The win improved SFA's season record to 14-11 and moved the Lumberjacks to 7-7 in Southland Conference play. SFA began the day tied with Texas-Arlington for sixth place in the conference standings. The Mavericks were scheduled to play at fifth-place Southeastern Louisiana Saturday night. A UTA win in that game would put the teams in a three-way tie for sixth, while a Maverick loss would leave the Lumberjacks in sixth place by themselves.
SFA has two Southland Conference games remaining, beginning with a home contest against Louisiana-Monroe on Wednesday, March 1. That game is set to tip off at 7 p.m. in the William R. Johnson Coliseum.
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