SFA Heads To Hammond
1/23/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 23, 2009
NACOGDOCHES, Texas -
ESSENTIALS
SFA at Southeastern Louisiana
Saturday, January 24, 2009 • 3:00 p.m.
University Center (7,500) • Hammond, La.
Radio: Q107.7 FM • Television: None • Internet: Yahoo! Sports
GAME INFORMATION
On The Road Again: The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjack basketball team will take to the highway for the third time in four games Saturday, when the 'Jacks square off with Southeastern Louisiana. SFA brings an 11-5 overall record and a 3-1 Southland Conference mark to the contest after suffering its first league defeat of the season. The Lions are 8-9 on the year and 2-2 in conference action.
Last Game: A hot-shooting second half propelled UT-Arlington to a 67-52 win over SFA Wednesday at Texas Hall. The Mavericks shot 48 percent after the break and hit six 3-pointers in the second period to cruise to the second-largest margin of defeat the 'Jacks have suffered this season. Four Mavericks reached double figures, led by 17 points from Brandon Long. Long scored all but four of his points in the second frame, which he began by going 3-for-3 from 3-point range to spark UTA. Tommy Moffitt pulled down 10 rebounds as the Mavericks beat SFA, 40-31, on the glass. Junior point guard Eric Bell scored a season-high 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting and dished out four assists. Senior forwards Josh Alexander and Nick Shaw added 10 points and eight rebounds apiece. The loss was the ninth in SFA's last 10 regular-season trips to Texas Hall.
vs. Southeastern Louisiana: SFA is 20-12 all-time against the Lions. The 'Jacks have won two straight in the series, but Southeastern has taken four of the last six meetings. The series is split at 5-5 over the last 10 games. In nine seasons under head coach Danny Kaspar, the Lumberjacks are 4-3 against the Lions on the road. In 11 of the 16 meetings over the last nine seasons, the winning team has scored fewer than 70 points.
The Lions: After a mid-season, four-game losing streak that included defeats against two SEC foes and a Big 10 opponent, the Lions have rebounded to win two of their last three games. Southeastern averages 74.5 points per game for the season and has maintained a 66-points per game clip in the three contests since leading scorer Kevyn Green went off the active roster at the end of his eligibility.
The Coaches: SFA is led by head coach Danny Kaspar. Kaspar is in his ninth season at the helm for the Lumberjacks. He holds a record of 145-101 (.589) at SFA and has a 364-153 (.704) overall record in 17-plus seasons as a collegiate head coach. Jim Yarbrough is 57-48 (.543) in his fourth season at Southeastern Louisiana.
Up Next: SFA will host Northwestern State on Wednesday, Jan. 28, in just its second home game of the SLC season. The game is set for a 7 p.m. tip.
NEWS AND NOTES
HISTORY: Senior forward Josh Alexander is already the career leader in points, rebounds and field goals in SFA's Division I era. He also ranks in the top 10 in both scoring and rebounding on the all-time list. With his first bucket against Nicholls State, Alexander went over 1,500 for his career, making him the first player in SFA's Division I era and just the sixth Lumberjack all-time to record 1,500 points and 500 rebounds. Alexander has accumulated 1,524 points and 603 rebounds in four seasons.
BENCHED: The SFA bench outscored the Nicholls State reserves, 11-0, in the Lumberjacks' 55-40 win. The Colonels' top two scorers combined for 29 points with the other three starters accounting for 11 points, but none of the four substitutes who touched the floor found the scoring column. This marks the first time this season for SFA to hold the opposition's bench scoreless.
BETTER HALF: SFA held Texas College to 11 points in the second half of the Lumberjacks' 83-42 win. This ties for the lowest one-half point total given up to an opponent in nine seasons under head coach Danny Kaspar and is the best second-half point total allowed in that time span. The Lumberjacks also limited Nicholls State to 15 points in the first half of their 55-40 win against the Colonels. The 'Jacks have held opposing teams below 20 points in a single half 31 times under Kaspar and are 29-2 in such contests. SFA held eight opponents under 20 points in a half during the 2007-08 campaign and has done so four times this season.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Matt Kingsley scored 18 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in SFA's win over Nicholls State for his second consecutive double-double and the eighth of his career. He had 16 points and 11 rebounds at Central Arkansas the game before. The senior center had 23 points and pulled down 13 rebounds against North Dakota State. The 13 rebounds were a season high for Kingsley and tied the career-best he set last November.
SPRAINED ARCHES: SFA held Central Arkansas to a 1-for-11 showing from 3-point range and didn't allow the Bears to hit a 3-pointer after halftime. This marks the second time this season for the 'Jacks to hold an opponent to just one 3-pointer. SFA is second in the SLC and ranks 23rd in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage defense at 30.0.
QUADRUPLE-DOUBLE: Four different Lumberjacks reached double figures in scoring in SFA's win over Central Arkansas. That marked the seventh time this season for the Lumberjacks to accomplish that feat. SFA is a perfect 9-0 in games when at least three Lumberjacks reach double digits in scoring.
ON THE DOWN-LOW: SFA scored 34 points in the paint against Central Arkansas. The Lumberjacks are 10-1 when they score at least 28 points in the paint. SFA is outscoring the opposition down low by an average of nine points per game.
WIDE-OPENER: SFA's 75-73 win over Sam Houston State in the Southland Conference opener marked the highest combined point total of the season for a game that ended in regulation. The 73 points allowed are the most given up by SFA outside of its 112-111 triple-overtime win against North Dakota State. The game also marked the just the second time this season for the Lumberjacks to give up 60 or more points in regulation and win. SFA had been 1-3 in such situations coming into its game against Sam.
WELL, FOR STARTERS...: Four SFA starters reached double digits in scoring, and the starting lineup accounted for all but six points in the Lumberjacks' 75-73 win over Sam Houston State. Josh Alexander played all 40 minutes -- the second time this season he's played every minute of a game -- and Nick Shaw and Eddie Williams each logged 39 minutes. The only subs to take the floor in the contest were Girod Adams, Walt Harris and Benson Akpan.
MIS-FIRE: SFA held Jarvis Christian to 22.4 percent shooting in the Lumberjacks' 69-46 win. That marks the lowest shooting percentage of the season for an SFA opponent.
EXPECT LOWS IN THE SINGLE DIGITS: Jarvis Christian's poor shooting led to another season-low for SFA opponents. Not a single Bulldogs player reached double figures in scoring, marking the first time since Dec. 21 of last season for the Lumberjacks to hold the opposition without a double-figure scorer.
BLOCK PARTY: The Lumberjacks contributed to Jarvis Christian's poor shooting by blocking a season-high 10 shots. This marks the first time in nine seasons under head coach Danny Kaspar for an SFA team to record double-digit blocked shots. Matt Kingsley posted a career-high five blocked shots, and Benson Akpan tied a season-best with three blocks.
DOUBLE-TROUBLE: SFA's 69-55 loss at Texas Tech came on the heels of a 16-point defeat at Arkansas, marking the first time since the 2004-05 season for the Lumberjacks to suffer double-digit loss margins in consecutive games. That season, SFA lost three straight games by 10 points or more, starting with a 78-64 defeat against Sam Houston State and ending with a 52-41 loss to Southeastern Louisiana.
OFF-BALANCE: Sophomore Eddie Williams scored 12 points to lead SFA in scoring against Texas Tech. This marked the second straight game and the third time this season SFA has had just one player reach double figures in scoring. All four of the Lumberjacks' losses this season have come when fewer than three players reached double digits.
STREAK: SFA's 93-54 win over Austin Peay in the first round of the Arkansas Jim Thorpe Classic took the Lumberjacks' win streak to six straight games, the longest of the season. The run began with an 83-42 verdict over Texas College on Nov. 29 and included three home wins, one true road victory and a pair of neutral-site wins.
SCORE!: The 93 points SFA put up against Austin Peay are the most scored in regulation by a Lumberjack team this season and the most points in regulation against a Division I opponent since SFA beat Centenary College, 94-57, in the 2005-06 campaign.
ALL IN: Every SFA player touched the floor in SFA's win over Austin Peay, marking the first and only time this season that all 14 players on the Lumberjack roster have entered a game.
STEADY EDDIE: Sophomore guard Eddie Williams tied his career-high with 25 points on 11-of-16 shooting against Austin Peay. This marked the second time in three games for Williams to reach 25 points and the third time this season for him to lead the team in scoring. He first eclipsed the mark in SFA's triple-overtime win against North Dakota State. Williams' 11 field goals also tied the career-high he posted against the Bison.
RANK AND FILE: SFA is ranked No. 12 in the most recent CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll. SFA began the year at No. 11, the first time in the poll's 10-year history for SFA to enter the season as a ranked team and the highest entry to the poll for a Lumberjack team to date. A month ago, SFA was ranked No. 10, marking the earliest move into the top 10 for the 'Jakcs since the poll began. SFA spent a program-best 15 consecutive weeks ranked in last year's Mid-Major Top 25. The 'Jacks climbed as high as No. 6, including a first-place vote, on Feb. 25, and finished the season ranked 14th.
SCORING SPREE: The 223 combined points SFA and NDSU scored is the highest combined total in an SFA game since the Lumberjacks' 123-103 loss to San Francisco in the 1994-95 season.
HIGH POINT: The 111 points scored by North Dakota State are the most given up by a Lumberjack team in nine seasons under head coach Danny Kaspar. The previous best for an opponent during the Kaspar era was the 92 scored by Arizona State in the season opener of the 2001-02 season, Kaspar's second at SFA. The 78 points the Bison scored in regulation are the most allowed by SFA in a regular-season game since the Lumberjacks beat Northern Illinois, 86-78, in 2006-07.
WORKING OVERTIME: SFA's triple-overtime win against North Dakota State is the longest game in SFA's 23 years as a Division I program and the longest contest played by an SFA team since the Lumberjacks took a quadruple-overtime win against Southwestern, 101-99, in 1983. SFA is now 28-33, all-time, in overtime games. The Lumberjacks are 6-4 in their last 10 overtime contests.
TWENTY-SOMETHING: Josh Alexander joined Kingsley above the 20-point barrier with 24 points against NDSU. He has now registered 20 or more points 22 times in his career.
MOVIN' ON UP: In a five-game stretch earlier this season, senior center Matt Kingsley jumped five slots on the list of career scoring leaders at SFA. He was 20th all-time heading into the Drake Hy-Vee Classic but came away from the Arkansas Jim Thorpe Classic 16th and moved into a tie for 15th with 1,151 career points following SFA's game at Texas Tech.
NO SHOT: The Lumberjacks dominated Texas College in the second half of their 83-42 victory. The Steers were just 2-for-22 from the field -- both 3-pointers -- in the final 20 minutes for a second-half shooting percentage of .091. That's the lowest single-half average of the season, and it left Texas College with a .308 shooting percentage for the game, the third time in four contests an SFA opponent had shot worse than 35 percent.
LOW POINT: In eight-plus seasons under head coach Danny Kaspar, SFA has held 31 opponents to 50 points or fewer. SFA held the competition below that level nine times in 2007-08. The previous best under Kaspar was four games in a single season with fewer than 50 points. So far this season, the Lumberjacks have held five opponents to fewer than 50 points. Four of the top eight performances for points allowed have been recorded this season.
REMEMBERING A LUMBERJACK LEGEND: In memory of Marshall Brown, who passed away over the summer, the Lumberjacks will wear a black band on their game jerseys during the 2008-09 season. Brown coached men's basketball at SFA from 1959-1978 and is the school's all-time winningest coach with 345 career victories.
SCOUTING THE LIONS
• FOR THE RECORD: Southeastern Louisiana comes into Saturday's game with an 8-9 overall record and a 2-2 mark in Southland Conference play. The Lions have won two of their last three games but those are their only two victories in their last seven contests. Southeastern has played the last three games without the services of Kevyn Green, whose eligibility ran out with the start of the spring semester. In their first game without Green, who was the SLC's leading scorer when he was removed from the active roster, the Lions knocked off Northwestern State, 84-59, ending a four-game skid. That streak was comprised exclusively of road games and included losses at Minnesota, Auburn and LSU.
• LAST GAME: Southeastern came from behind in the second half, erasing a 10-point deficit to notch a 52-49 home win over McNeese State Wednesday. The Lions shot just 34.6 percent in the first half, including a 1-for-10 effort from 3-point range. But Southeastern hit 40 percent of its 3-pointers after the break and held McNeese to a 25.8-percent effort in the second period. The Lions held the Cowboys scoreless for more than 10 minutes during one second-half stretch. Chris Cyprian scored 13 of his game-high 17 points in the second half and had three of the Lions' five 3-pointers. Southeastern outscored the Cowboys, 26-18, in the paint and finished with an 18-1 advantage in points off turnovers. David Ndoumba pulled down 10 rebounds for the Lions.
• LAST MEETING: SFA went without a field goal over the game's final 10 minutes but held on for a 48-45 win over Southeastern last year in Hammond. Matt Kingsley scored 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting to tie for game-high honors. Departed guard Gerald Fonzie went 3-for-5 from 3-point range and scored 13 points. Josh Alexander went just 2-for-9 from the field and finished with only six points, but led all players with 11 rebounds. SFA shot just 37.8 percent from the floor but held the Lions to 33.3 percent shooting and didn't allow a 3-point field goal in the second period.
• KEY NUMBERS: The Lions are the second-best shooting team in the SLC, knocking down 47.6 percent from the field. Southeastern's 74.5 points per game rank fifth in the league. The Lions finished last season third in the Southland in scoring defense, allowing 62.4 points per game. But this season's Lions are eighth in the league, giving up nearly 69 points per contest. Southeastern is dead even with SFA at the bottom of the league in free throw percentage at .631.
• LEADERS: The Lions lost a lot of offense when league-leader Kevyn Green (19.2 ppg) ran out of eligibility before the start of the spring semester. The next-best scoring option for Southeastern is junior center Patrick Sullivan, who ranks 23rd with 11.5 points per game. Sullivan also leads the Lions and ranks fifth in the SLC in rebounding with 7.2 boards per contest and has the second-best field goal percentage in the league at .579. Freshman guard Brandon Fortenberry is third in the conference with 4.6 assists per game.
• Click here for complete game notes in .pdf format.
-- SFA --
