Stephen F. Austin
Paul Quinn
Lumberjacks Blast Paul Quinn
12/29/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 29, 2007
DALLAS, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjack basketball team extended its winning streak to eight straight games with a 98-62 win over Paul Quinn College Saturday in the SMU Holiday Classic at Moody Coliseum. Junior center Matt Kingsley scored 25 points to lead all scorers and help SFA improve to 10-1 on the season.
With SFA's 10th win in 11 games, the Lumberjacks have tied their quickest run to double-figure victories since the 1981-82 season, when SFA opened the season 14-1.
Saturday's 98-point output was the Lumberjacks' highest-scoring game of the year, eclipsing the 82 points SFA put up in a win at Jackson State, while Paul Quinn's 62 points were a season-low for the Tigers (6-7).
Kingsley's 25 points were two off a season-high. Junior forward Josh Alexander scored 22 points on 7-for-15 shooting, marking the second time in three games for him to break 20 points.
The Lumberjacks dominated inside, outscoring the Tigers, 42-20, in the paint. Kingsley was 10-for-13 to pace the inside game, and his backup, Benson Akpan, registered 10 points, missing a career-high by three points. The two centers were solid at the other end of the floor as well, combining for seven blocks - four by Kingsley and three by Akpan.
SFA shot 52 percent and held the Tigers to 36 percent from the floor. The Lumberjacks never trailed in the game and led by as many as 37 points. SFA outrebounded Paul Quinn, 43-31, behind seven boards from Kingsley and five each by Alexander and senior Scott Weaver.
Kingsley tied the best first-half scoring performance of the year by a Lumberjack with 17 points in the opening frame. He shot 7-of-9 from the field in leading a solid inside attack that saw the Lumberjacks outscore Paul Quinn, 20-12, in the paint in the first half.
Alexander joined Kingsley in double digits in the opening frame with 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting, all from 3-point range. It was the seventh time this season for Alexander to reach double figures in the first half and marked Kingsley's fifth double-figure performance in the opening stanza of a game. In all, SFA has had at least one player reach double figures scoring in the first half in eight of 11 games this season. SFA led by as many as 16 in the first half, when it shot 45.9 percent from the field.
Freshman guard Eddie Williams scored 12 points, marking the second straight game for him to hit that number. Classmate Preston Davis added a career-high six points, senior Gerald Fonzie scored five, as did junior Nick Shaw. Sophomore point guard Eric Bell chipped in with four points and three assists. Fonzie dished out five assists. Junior guard Jason Rogers scored three points, and Kyle Jacobs, Weaver and Cameron James each added a pair.
Jazz Henderson scored 15 points to pace Paul Quinn. SFA held leading scorer Damien Chisholm to six points, 18 points less than his season average.
The Lumberjacks will be back in action Sunday, when they take on host team SMU. The game is set for a 4:35 p.m. start. The Mustangs defeated Southland Conference school Texas State, 77-70, in the first game of the Holiday Classic.
-- SFA --
