Stephen F. Austin
at Nicholls State
Nicholls Knocks Off `Jacks
2/4/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 4, 2009
THIBODAUX, La. - Stephen F. Austin's backcourt was held scoreless through the first 18 minutes of Wednesday's game, as Nicholls State took a 57-50 win over the Lumberjacks in Stopher Gymnasium.
The loss halted SFA's win streak at three games, while running Nicholls' longest SLC winning streak in 11 years to five straight victories. The Lumberjacks (14-6) fall into a tie with the Colonels (13-8) for first place in the SLC East Division. Each team moved to 6-2 in league action following Wednesday's game.
After sophomore Eddie Williams scored the first points by an SFA guard on a second-chance layup with 1:39 to play, Girod Adams heated up for nine points over the next 60 seconds. His jumper with 35 seconds to play brought the Lumberjacks to within four points, at 52-48.
But SFA was forced to foul, and Anatoly Bose was a perfect 4-for-4 at the stripe down the stretch to keep the `Jacks at arm's length.
Bose finished 10-for-10 at the free throw line and was 3-for-5 from 3-point range for a game-high 23 points. He also pulled down 10 rebounds, leading an effort that saw Nicholls beat SFA, 32-25, on the boards.
Senior center Matt Kingsley scored 17 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double and the 10th of his career. Classmate Nick Shaw added 14 points, as he was one of just two SFA players to connect from 3-point range. He finished 2-of-4 from downtown, tying his season-high for triples. Adams finished with nine points, all coming in that late, one-minute push.
SFA finished with a 39.6 shooting percentage, but had made just five second-half field goals until Williams' layup at the 1:39 mark. The Lumberjacks sank just two shots from the floor over a 13-minute stretch in the second half, allowing Nicholls to build a 45-32 lead, its biggest of the night, by the 2:52 mark.
Senior Josh Alexander got his first points of the night when he dunked a lob pass from Shaw with 2:38 to play, making it a 45-34 game. But even SFA's late flurry wasn't enough to erase the deficit.
SFA led by as many as five in the first half, but the Lumberjacks managed just one field goal - a Zach Williams jumper - over the final 6:55. Aided by two SFA turnovers in the final minute, the Colonels scored six points over the final four minutes to cut the Lumberjack lead to one, at 21-20, going into the half.
SFA shot 47 percent in the opening period but coughed up eight turnovers. The Lumberjack bench outscored the Nicholls reserves, 6-0, before the break, as Williams and Benson Akpan were the only players besides Shaw and Kingsley to find the scoring column in the first half.
SFA will return to action Saturday, when the Lumberjacks host Lamar in the annual Purple Out game. Lumberjack Alley will be open for tailgating starting at 3 p.m., and the game, which tips at 6, will offer free admission to any fans wearing purple.
- SFA -
