SFA Heads To Corpus Christi
2/27/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 27, 2009
NACOGDOCHES, Texas -
ESSENTIALS
SFA at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Saturday, February 28, 2009 • 7:00 p.m.
American Bank Center (8,400) • Corpus Christi, Texas
Radio: 107.7-FM • Television: None • Internet: Yahoo! Sports
GAME INFORMATION
Island Getaway: The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjack basketball team will try to strengthen its grip on the top spot in the Southland Conference when the 'Jacks head to Corpus Christi Saturday to take on the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders. SFA is 18-7 on the season and tied with Sam Houston State for first place with a 10-3 SLC record. The Islanders are a game back of SFA and Sam in the standings at 9-4 in league play. A&M-Corpus is 15-13 overall.
Last Game: SFA held Texas State to a season-low 52 points in Saturday's 68-52 verdict. The Bobcats came into the game as the highest-scoring team in the Southland Conference, averaging 82.3 points per game. But the Lumberjacks used a 21-0 first-half run to take control of the game and held Texas State to 41.7 percent shooting, as the Bobcats failed to break 60 points for just the second time this season. Senior center Matt Kingsley scored 23 points to lead SFA. Classmates Josh Alexander and Nick Shaw added 15 and 11 points, respectively, and Shaw pulled down 10 rebounds for his second career double-double. Despite a team deficit of 32-29 on the boards, SFA outscored the Bobcats, 20-11, in second-chance points and finished with a 36-26 advantage in the paint. The win was SFA's 10th straight against Texas State.
vs. A&M-Corpus Christi: SFA's young series with the Islanders is tied at two wins apiece. In 2006-07, A&M-Corpus' first season in the Southland Conference, the Islanders swept both meetings on their way to an SLC title. Last season, the Lumberjacks returned the favor, taking both games en route to the program's first Southland championship. SFA won last season's meeting in Corpus Christi, 71-62.
The Islanders: Led by the top scoring threat in the league, junior Kevin Palmer, A&M-Corpus has put itself in the hunt for a second SLC title in three years. The Islanders follow Saturday's game against SFA with tilts against Lamar and UT-Arlington.
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 152-103 (.596) at SFA and has a 371-155 (.705) overall record in 18 seasons as a collegiate head coach. Perry Clark is 24-33 (.421) in his second season with the Islanders.
Up Next: SFA will host Central Arkansas Wednesday in the final home game of the regular season. Prior to the 7 p.m. contest against the Bears, the Lumberjack seniors will be honored in a brief ceremony.
NEWS AND NOTES
ON A TEAR: Senior center Matt Kingsley leads SFA with his 15.8 points per game this season. In Southland Conference play, he ranks third among all SLC players with 17.2 points per contest. But Kingsley has really upped his production in the last five games. During that stretch, the Houston native has broken 20 points four times, including each of the last three contests. He is averaging 19.8 points per game over that span, second only to the 20.2 points per contest A&M-Corpus Christi's Kevin Palmer has scored during the same five-game stretch.
BOARDED UP: Nick Shaw pulled down 19 rebounds in SFA's 45-38 win over Southeastern Louisiana. The 19 rebounds are a career-high for Shaw and mark the highest single-game total in the Southland Conference this season. There have been just 41 single-game performances in the nation this season of 19 or more rebounds. Shaw is the only player in the country to have grabbed more than 18 boards without scoring. Including the 16 boards he recorded against Louisiana-Monroe last season, Shaw has now recorded the top two single-game marks for rebounds in nine seasons under head coach Danny Kaspar. The next-best total is the 15 posted by Ransom White against McNeese State during the 2000-01 season, Kaspar's first with SFA. Shaw has pulled down double-figure rebounds in three of the last four games.
DOUBLING UP: Coming into SFA's game with Nicholls State on Jan. 17, Matt Kingsley had posted seven career double-doubles, but had never recorded double-doubles in consecutive games. He rectified that with 18 points and 11 rebounds against the Colonels to follow a 16-point, 11-rebound outing at Central Arkansas the game before. Three weeks later, Kingsley repeated the back-to-back double-double feat with 12 points and 11 boards against McNeese State, followed by 17 points and 11 rebounds in the rematch with Nicholls State. Kingsley recorded 21 points and 10 rebounds against Southeastern Louisiana and has now posted 10 career double-double performances.
HIGH-LOW: December's 112-111 triple-overtime win against North Dakota State marked the most combined points (223) in a Lumberjack game in nine seasons under head coach Danny Kaspar. Since the beginning of Southland Conference play, SFA has played in the two lowest-scoring games of Kaspar's tenure. In January, the Lumberjacks took a 43-41 win over McNeese State (84 combined points). In February, the Lumberjacks knocked off Southeastern Louisiana, 45-38 (83 combined points). SFA has played in 15 games over the last nine seasons that had a combined point total of fewer than 100 points. The 83 points against Southeastern are the lowest combined total since SFA took a 44-33 win at Abilene Christian in the 1981-82 season. The Lumberjack head coach in that game was Harry Miller, one of Kaspar's mentors in the coaching world.
ON TARGET: McNeese State shot 56.4 percent from the field in the Cowboys' 59-56 win over SFA. That marks the best shooting percentage by a Lumberjack opponent this season and the first time in Southland Conference play for an opponent to shoot better than its season average against the 'Jacks. The last time an SFA opponent shot better than 56 percent came in the 2006-07 season, when Texas A&M-Corpus Christi hit 59.5 percent in a 70-62 win over the Lumberjacks. SFA had gone 63 straight games without allowing a foe to shoot better than 56 percent.
SHOOTING STRUGGLES: While the Cowboys were filling up the bucket at their end of the floor, SFA stumbled to a 38.2-percent effort at the other end. The Lumberjack have shot worse than 40 percent nine times this season and won only three times in those contests -- their 45-38 verdict against Southeastern Louisiana (38.3 percent), their 59-51 win at Northwestern State (35.7 percent) and their 43-41 home win over McNeese (30.2 percent).
RANK AND FILE: SFA finished one spot outside the most recent CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll with 42 votes. Last week, the 'Jacks fell out of the poll for the first time in over a year. SFA spent 25 consecutive weeks in the poll after breaking in during December of the 2007-08 season. SFA began this season 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. In December, 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 of last season, and finished the season ranked 14th.
TRIPLE-DOUBLE: For the first time in nine seasons under head coach Danny Kaspar, three Lumberjacks pulled down double-figure rebounds. Matt Kingsley, Josh Alexander and Nick Shaw grabbed 10 boards apiece in SFA's 59-51 win at Northwestern State, as the Lumberjacks out-rebounded the Demons, 39-37.
TWENTY-SOMETHING: Josh Alexander scored a game-high 21 points at Northwestern State. He came into the game having averaged 6.5 points per game in the four previous contests. That included a string of three straight games without reaching double digits in scoring, matching the longest such run of his career. Alexander's last 20-point effort had come Dec. 12, when he dropped a season-high 24 against North Dakota State in a triple-overtime win. The 14 games between that performance and his 21-point effort at Northwestern State were one game short of tying for the longest such streak of his career, when he went 15 games between 20-point outings as a sophomore.
TWELVE BELOW: In 12 of 13 Southland Conference games to date, SFA has held its opposition below its season average for field goal percentage. Eight of those 13 foes have been squeezed to worse than 40 percent shooting. The 37.9 percent SFA opponents are shooting this season in conference play leads the league. Overall, the Lumberjacks pace the SLC and rank fifth in the nation in field goal percentage defense.
CUTTIN' IT CLOSE: SFA's 43-41 win over McNeese State was just the fifth game this season with a final margin of two points or fewer. Only 10 of the Lumberjacks' games this year have been decided by fewer than 10 points. SFA is 4-1 this season in games decided by two points or fewer. Last season, only two games had margins of two points or fewer, and SFA lost both contests.
THREE OF A KIND BEATS A FULL HOUSE?: The Lumberjacks' top three individual scorers -- Matt Kingsley, 25; Benson Akpan, 12; Eddie Williams, 11 -- in SFA's 73-45 win over Northwestern State combined to outscore the Demons, 48-45, on their own. This marks the sixth time this season and the second time in SLC play that SFA's top three scorers tied or beat the opponent's final score.
HIGHS IN THE SINGLE DIGITS: SFA held Northwestern State without a double-digit scorer in the Lumberjacks' 73-45 win, marking the second time this season SFA has posted such a performance. The `Jacks also held Jarvis Christian without a double-figure scorer.
ON THE DOWN-LOW: SFA scored a season-high 52 points in the paint against Northwestern State. The Lumberjacks are 12-1 when they score at least 28 points in the paint. SFA is outscoring the opposition down low by an average of 7.4 points per game.
SPRAINED ARCHES: SFA held Northwestern State to an 0-for-11 showing from 3-point range in their first meeting this year. That marks the first time this season for the `Jacks to hold the opposition without a 3-point field goal. The last time an SFA foe came up empty from 3-point range was the 0-for-4 performance by San Diego last season. The `Jacks have limited two opponents to one 3-pointer this season. SFA is first in the SLC and ranks 4th in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage defense at 28.1.
ALL IN: All 15 SFA players touched the floor in SFA's home win over Texas State, marking the third time this season that every Lumberjack in uniform has seen playing time. The first came in SFA's win over Austin Peay with the second coming in the Lumberjacks' victory against Northwestern State.
ASKING FOR SECONDS: SFA pulled down 13 offensive rebounds in its 60-49 win at Southeastern Louisiana and outscored the Lions, 15-9, in second-chance points. Southeastern managed just five offensive boards, tying for the fewest given up by SFA this season. For the season, SFA holds a 246-225 edge over its opponents in offensive rebounding.
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 1,617 points and 649 rebounds in four seasons.
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. Kingsley currently ranks ninth all-time with 1,393 career points.
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 `Jacks have held opposing teams below 20 points in a single half 35 times under Kaspar and are 33-2 in such contests. SFA held eight opponents under 20 points in a half during the 2007-08 campaign and has done so eight times this season.
BENCHED: The SFA bench outscored the Nicholls State reserves, 11-0, in the Lumberjacks' 55-40 home 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 only time this season for SFA to hold the opposition's bench scoreless.
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 12-2 in games when at least three Lumberjacks reach double digits in scoring.
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 is now 3-4 in such situations this year.
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.
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.
SCORE!: The 93 points SFA put up in its 93-54 win over 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.
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.
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.
LOW POINT: In nine seasons under head coach Danny Kaspar, SFA has held 35 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 matched last year's total with nine opponents limited to fewer than 50 points. Six of the top nine performances for points allowed have been recorded this season.
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.
SAFE AT HOME: In nine seasons under head coach Danny Kaspar, the Lumberjacks have compiled a 100-27 (.787) record in the William R. Johnson Coliseum. SFA is 296-118 (.715) all-time in the Coliseum. SFA defeated Howard Payne, 77-38, in the season opener. Kaspar's teams are 9-0 in home openers at SFA. The Lumberjacks are 12-0 at home this season, marking the fourth straight season and the sixth time in seven years for SFA to post double-digit wins at home.
REMEMBERING A LUMBERJACK LEGEND: In memory of Marshall Brown, who passed away over the summer, the Lumberjacks will wear a black band on the left shoulder of 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.
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.
SCOUTING THE ISLANDERS
FOR THE RECORD: Texas A&M-Corpus Christi closed out non-conference play by losing three straight and five of its last six. But the Islanders opened Southland Conference action with a season-best five-game win streak. A&M-Corpus won eight of its first nine league games, in all, with the only loss in that stretch being a 72-51 defeat at Sam Houston State. The Islanders have since lost three of their last four contests, but two of those three losses were decided by just two points.
LAST GAME: Southeastern Louisiana got a driving layup from Damon Forest with 0.4 seconds left to take a 70-68 home win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Wednesday. The Lions trailed by 15 (40-25) at halftime, and A&M-Corpus led by as many as 17 in the game. The Islanders saw their shooting percentage fall from 48 percent in the first half to 33 percent after the break, while Southeastern heated up from 39 percent in the opening period to 53 percent in the second half. Four different Lions reached double figures in scoring, led by 17 from center Patrick Sullivan. Southeastern outscored A&M-Corpus, 40-29, in the paint. Kevin Palmer went 6-for-12 from the floor and 5-of-5 at the foul line to finish with 19 points.
LAST MEETING: Josh Alexander scored 20 points to lead SFA to a 71-56 win over A&M-Corpus in SFA's home finale a year ago. The Islanders shot 72 percent in the first half but cooled to 39 percent after the break and were hurt by 13 turnovers. The Lumberjacks gave up possession only five times and finished with a 20-5 advantage in points off turnovers. SFA also pulled down 16 of its 33 rebounds on offense and held a 13-4 edge in second-chance scoring. Gerald Fonzie and Matt Kingsley joined Alexander in double digits with 16 points each. Justin Reynolds' 19 points and 11 rebounds paced the Islanders.
KEY NUMBERS: A&M-Corpus is active in creating turnovers. The 16.6 turnovers per game Islander opponents are averaging ranks fifth in the league, but A&M-Corpus is second in the conference in steals with 9.2 thefts per contest. The Islanders also give up 17.5 turnovers per contest, second-most in the league, and their minus-0.9 turnover margin ranks ninth in the SLC. A&M-Corpus ranks 10th in the league in field goal percentage at .418 and 11th in the conference from 3-point range at .297. But the Islanders average 13.9 rebounds per game, second-most in the league.
LEADERS: Junior guard Kevin Palmer leads the SLC with 17.4 points per game. He has attempted the second-most free throws in the league this season and shoots 81 percent from the stripe, fourth in the conference. Palmer's 2.7 steals per game rank second in the league. Sophomore forward Justin Reynolds' 8.9 points per game is the next-best average on the team. Sophomore forward Demond Watt leads the Islanders and ranks 16th in the SLC with 5.8 rebounds per game.
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