Stephen F. Austin
Central Arkansas
`Jacks Roll Past UCA
3/4/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 4, 2009
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks played nearly flawless defense in the first half Wednesday on the way to a 61-39 win over Central Arkansas that locked up at least a share of the program's second consecutive Southland Conference championship.
The win improves the Lumberjacks to 20-7 on the season - their second straight 20-win season and fourth in nine years under head coach Danny Kaspar - and 12-3 in SLC play. SFA leads second-place teams Nicholls State and Sam Houston State by a full game in the league standings with one contest remaining.
With a win in Saturday's season finale at UTSA, the Lumberjacks can assure themselves of a No. 1 seed at next week's SLC Tournament and a second straight post-season tournament berth (the No. 1 seed in each conference is guaranteed a berth in the National Invitation Tournament should that team fail to make the NCAA Championships).
Wednesday, SFA opened the game on a 10-0 run and took a 33-7 lead to the locker room at halftime. The seven points mark the second-lowest halftime total in the nation this season. The lowest halftime score of the year is the six Samford put up in a 59-22 loss at Ohio State on Nov. 29. The NCAA record-low for first-half scoring in the shot-clock era is four, recorded last season in a Kansas State win over Savannah State.
The Bears (9-19, 2-13 SLC) ended the first period on an 11-minute, 27-second field goal drought. Their only scoring in that stretch was a Landrell Brewer free throw with 16 seconds left that kept Central Arkansas from tying for the lowest first-half output of the year.
Central Arkansas picked up its scoring in the second period, upping its shooting percentage from 14.3 percent before the break to 27.0 percent after intermission. But the Bears still finished tied for the worst shooting percentage of the season by an SFA opponent - 22.4 percent. The 39 points mark the third time this season for the Lumberjacks to hold the opposition below 40 and the 10th time of the year to limit a foe to fewer than 50 points.
After the Lumberjacks pushed their advantage to 20 points (26-6) on a 3-pointer by Josh Alexander with 6:06 to play in the first period, UCA was unable to get the lead back down to 19 until the game's final two minutes.
SFA shot 47 percent from the field in the first half and led by as many as 28 early in the second period, as the Lumberjacks cleared their bench and coasted to an easy win on Senior Night. All 15 players in uniform saw action in the game.
Center Matt Kingsley and power forward Nick Shaw - two of the seniors honored in a pregame ceremony - led SFA with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Shaw was 5-for-6 from the floor, matching his season-high for field goals. Kingsley pulled down seven rebounds to lead the Lumberjacks and added three blocked shots.
Classmate Alexander scored eight points - all in the first half - and senior center Benson Akpan came off the bench to put up four points and four rebounds.
Shooting guard Cameron James, who is officially listed as a junior on this year's team, was also honored before the game, as he will forgo his final season of eligibility. James played the last eight minutes of the game and went 2-for-2 from the field, including a 3-pointer, to post a career-high five points.
Imad Qahwash came off the bench to score 10 points - all in the second period - helping UCA to avoid becoming the second SFA opponent this season not to post a double-figure scorer. The next-best total for the Bears was Landrell Brewer's nine. UCA was just 1-for-15 from 3-point range, marking the fourth time this season for the Lumberjacks to hold a foe to fewer than two 3-pointers.
SFA's season finale is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip from San Antonio Saturday. The Roadrunners come into the game with a 17-11 season record and an 8-7 mark in Southland play.
-- SFA --
