Stephen F. Austin
Nicholls State
SFA Smothers Nicholls
1/17/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 17, 2009
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Matt Kingsley posted a double-double for the second consecutive game, and Stephen F. Austin allowed just five Nicholls State players to crack the scoring column, as the Lumberjacks took a 55-40 win Saturday in the William R. Johnson Coliseum.
The 40 points scored by Nicholls are two off a season-low for the Colonels, who came into the contest averaging 67.3 a game. It marks the second-fewest points allowed to a Lumberjack foe this season and the fifth time this year for SFA to hold the opposition to fewer than 50 points.
Kingsley, SFA's senior center, scored 18 points and pulled down 11 rebounds against the Colonels to follow up the 16-point, 11-board night he posted at Central Arkansas Wednesday. This marks the first time in Kingsley's career for him to put up double-doubles in consecutive games.
The win moves SFA to 11-4 on the season and keeps the `Jacks atop the Southland Conference East Division standings with a 3-0 record in league play. SFA has now won four straight games and 10 of its last 12 contests. Nicholls falls to 8-8 overall and 1-2 in conference play.
SFA built a 16-point halftime lead behind stifling defense, then weathered a brief run by Nicholls early in the second period before pulling away down the stretch.
The `Jacks used a 13-2 run in the first half to go from an early one-point deficit to a double-figure (20-10) lead at the 6:09 mark. Nicholls aided the run with three turnovers, and Kingsley contributed four points to the cause, while classmate Josh Alexander added a 3-pointer and two free throws to the effort.
Nicholls would finish the half with 11 turnovers and just six made baskets, as SFA took a 31-15 lead to the locker room. It marked the fourth time this season and the 31st time in nine years under head coach Danny Kaspar for the Lumberjacks to hold the opposition to fewer than 20 points in a half. The 15 scored by Nicholls ties for the seventh-lowest single-half total by an SFA opponent under Kaspar.
Thanks to 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions, the Colonels opened the second period on a 6-2 spurt that quickly cut the lead to 12 points. Nicholls was looking for more after an SFA turnover at the other end, but Kingsley grabbed one of his 11 rebounds to halt a Colonels possession that had already been resuscitated twice by offensive boards.
A possession later, sophomore guard Eddie Williams drove to the hoop for a layup, and senior Nick Shaw answered a Nicholls bucket with a two-handed dunk on a baseline drive to put SFA back in front by 14.
The Colonels would trim the margin to single digits when Anatoly Bose and Ryan Bathie knocked down threes on consecutive possessions, the second one bringing Nicholls to within eight (37-29) with 12:48 to play. But junior guard Walt Harris responded with a jumper, and classmate Girod Adams answered a Nicholls miss with a driving jump shot in the paint to give SFA a 12-point margin.
Nicholls cut the advantage to nine points (43-34) on another Bose 3-pointer with 6:32 left, but Kingsley knocked down a jumper in the paint that spurred SFA to a 12-2 run over the next four minutes, sealing the game for the Lumberjacks. Kingsley had six points, including a tip-in on an offensive rebound during the stretch, and Alexander capped the run with a 3-pointer that gave SFA a 54-36 lead with 1:15 to play.
Kingsley finished 9-of-13 from the floor and had three offensive rebounds in his batch of 11. Alexander totaled 15 points on a 3-of-6 effort from 3-point range and was perfect at the foul stripe, knocking down all four of his attempts. Shaw's only points of the night came on his dunk in the second half, but he added five rebounds in 40 minutes of action.
Harris finished with eight points, and Williams added seven. Junior point guard Eric Bell dished out seven assists and pulled down four rebounds.
For the game, SFA outrebounded Nicholls, 32-24, and outscored the Colonels, 13-5, on second-chance points. The Lumberjacks posted a 26-14 advantage in the paint, and the SFA bench outscored the Nicholls reserves, 11-0.
Bose hit five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points to pace Nicholls. Bathie added 12, but no other Colonel contributed more than five points, and none of the four subs to take the court registered a point. Nicholls was 1-for-6 from the free throw line and went 0-for-4 at the stripe in the second period.
The Lumberjacks will return to the court on Wednesday, when they meet UT-Arlington in a road game. The showdown at Texas Hall will tip off at 7 p.m.
-- SFA --
