GAME NOTES: at Sam Houston State
1/25/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 25, 2011
NACOGDOCHES, Texas -
Complete Release in PDF Format 
VITALS
Stephen F. Austin at Sam Houston State
Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011 • 7:00 p.m. (CST)
Johnson Coliseum (6,100) • Huntsville, Texas
Radio: KTBQ 107.7 FM • TV: None • Online: GoBearkats.com
Lumberjacks
Record: 11-5 (2-2)
Last 5/Streak: 3-2/L-1
Coach: Danny Kaspar
Career: 411-170
At SFA: 192-118
SID: Brian Ross
E-mail: rossbrian@sfasu.edu
Web: sfajacks.com
Bearkats
Record: 9-9 (2-3)
Last 5/Streak: 2-3/L-2
Coach: Jason Hooten
Career: 9-9
At SHSU: 9-9
SID: Paul Ridings
E-mail: ridings@shsu.edu
Web: gobearkats.com
GAME INFORMATION
RIVALRY REVISITED: The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjack basketball team heads to Huntsville Wednesday to pay a visit to rival Sam Houston State for the first of two games against the Bearkats. SFA spent the last two seasons playing in the Southland East Division, giving the 'Jacks only one regular-season game against Sam Houston in each of those campaigns. The Lumberjacks go into Wednesday's game with an 11-5 overall record. SFA is 2-2 in league play and tied for third in the Southland West. The Bearkats are 9-9 on the year and 2-3 in conference action.
LAST GAME: SFA posted its worst home shooting percentage of the year in a 62-52 loss to UT Arlington on Saturday. The game marked the Lumberjacks' first home defeat of the season and just their third loss at home to a Southland team in the last four years. Junior forward Dion Prewster scored 10 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for his first career double-double but no other Lumberjack reached double digits in scoring. UT Arlington tied a season-high by SFA opponents with eight 3-pointers. LaMarcus Reed went 3-for-4 from distance to lead the Mavericks with 16 points.
THE BEARKATS: Sam Houston posted solid non-conference wins against Colorado State, North Texas and Florida International and had a 7-6 record going into conference play. Included in that tally were two losses to Houston by a total of six points. Sam Houston opened conference play by winning two of its first three games but has dropped consecutive decisions on the road, losing to Texas State and A&M-Corpus Christi. Gilberto Clavell's 19.9 points per game lead the Bearkats.
vs. SHSU: Sam Houston holds a 92-91 lead in the all-time series between the two schools. The Bearkats have won eight of the last 10 meetings and three of the last five. Sam Houston won both clashes last season, including a 64-48 verdict in the championship game of the Southland Conference Tournament. In 10 years under head coach Danny Kaspar, the 'Jacks have won in Huntsville only once, a 71-61 decision during the 2003-04 season.
COVERAGE: Wednesday's game will be broadcast live on KTBQ 107.7 FM. Rob Meyers has the call. Sam Houston will provide live stats and live streaming video on GoBearkats.com.
UP NEXT: SFA will host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Saturday in the Southland Conference Television Network Toyota Game of the Week. The contest is set to begin at 2 p.m. from the William R. Johnson Coliseum.
NEWS AND NOTES
HOMEWRECKERS: SFA saw its perfect home record fall by the wayside in the 62-52 loss against UT Arlington. That defeat is only the program's third home loss in Southland play in the last four seasons. UTA has now won two of its last three games in Nacogdoches, dating to the 2007-08 season.
INSIDE-OUT: UT Arlington became just the fourth team this season to outscore SFA in the paint, besting the Lumberjacks, 18-16, down low. Additionally, the Mavericks hit eight 3-pointers, tying with Texas A&M for the most by an SFA opponent this season.
SHUFFLING THE DECK: SFA used the same starting lineup through the first eight games of the season and went 6-2 in that stretch. The 'Jacks have fielded a different lineup in four of the last eight contests, with a 4-1 mark in those games. The original starting five is 7-4, in all, this season.
SECOND-HALF SHOOTING: In the win at UTSA, SFA went from shooting 34.8 percent in the first half to 57.7 percent after the break. That's an increase of 22.9 percent from first half to second. It marks just the second time this season and the sixth time in the last four seasons for the 'Jacks to up their shooting by 20-plus percentage points between halves.
CAREER NIGHT: A pair of first-year players posted career highs in SFA's win at UTSA. Freshman Desmond Haymon put up 15 points and five rebounds, eclipsing both of his previous best marks. Junior transfer Dion Prewster added 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting, both career highs.
SCORING BINGE: Prewster's scoring performance is even more impressive considering that all 13 points came in an eight-and-a-half-minute stretch at the end of the second half. He was scoreless in the game until a pair of free throws at the 10:02 mark. Prewster put the finishing touches on his 13-point outburst with a 3-pointer with 1:30 to play.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Senior forward Jordan Glynn posted double-doubles in consecutive games against Central Arkansas and UTSA to earn the first Southland Conference Player of the Week honor of his career. Glynn averaged 19 points and 13 rebounds in the two games.
DIVIDE AND CONQUER: Since the Southland Conference began divisional play in 2006-07, SFA has won three of a possible four division championships. The 'Jacks won the Southland West in 2008 and won the East Division title in 2009 and 2010.
BEAST AGAINST THE EAST: In four-plus years of divisional play in the Southland Conference, SFA has only lost one home game to a team from the Southland East Division. That was a 67-57 decision against Northwestern State in 2006-07, the first year of divisional action. Since then, the 'Jacks are a perfect 14-0 at home against the East and have a 27-7 overall mark against teams in that division.
SCORING SPIKE: The 63 points Central Arkansas scored are the second-most allowed by SFA in a win this season. The only team to beat that score in a Lumberjack victory is ULM. SFA beat the Warhawks, 65-64, on a last-second 3-pointer by Zac Downing.
COLD SHOOTING: SFA shot a season-worst 35.2 percent from the field in its Southland-opening loss at Southeastern Louisiana. The SFA backcourt combined to go 9-for-29 from the floor in that game. The Lumberjacks have shot worse than 40 percent only four times this season, all in losses.
PLAYING THE PERCENTAGES: The most distinct statistical difference between SFA's 11 wins and five losses is shooting percentage. The 'Jacks have shot 49.1 percent in games won but just 37.6 percent in their defeats. At the other end of the floor, the opposition has shot 35.8 percent in SFA wins but 48 percent in the five Lumberjack losses.
BOUNCING BACK: SFA is 4-0 this season in games following a loss. Over the last three seasons, the 'Jacks are 17-0 in home games following defeats. The last time SFA dropped two straight games with the second loss coming at home was the 2006-07 season, when the 'Jacks fell at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, then lost at home to UTSA in the regular-season finale.
SOUTHLAND OPENERS: In 11 seasons under Danny Kaspar, SFA is 5-6 in Southland Conference openers. The 'Jacks have dropped three of their last four league-opening games and have lost five straight times when opening Southland play on the road. SFA is 2-5 under Kaspar in Southland openers away from home. The last time a Lumberjack team won a league-opening road game was a 2002-03 verdict at former Southland member ULM.
FAST START: With its win against Wiley College, SFA tied the 2003-04 season for the third-best pre-conference win total in the program's history at the Division I level. The only times the 'Jacks have won more than nine games before conference were last season (10-3) and 2007-08 (12-1).
PUTTING TWO HALVES TOGETHER: In its home game against the Warhawks, SFA held ULM to 19 points in the first half and 17 points in the second period. Coming into the game with the Warhawks, the Lumberjacks had held the opposition to fewer than 20 points in a half on three occasions this season, but had not yet done so in both halves of the same game. That marks the only time in the last four seasons for an SFA foe to score fewer than 20 in both halves of a single game.
HOME DEFENSE: SFA has held its opponents to fewer than 50 points in seven of 10 games at home this season. The Lumberjacks are allowing just 48.4 points per game at home for the year.
DEFENSE FIRST: The Lumberjacks lead the nation in scoring defense. The 54.0 points per game SFA has allowed make the 'Jacks one of just two teams in the country to give up fewer than 55 points per game. SFA has finished the year ranked among the top 10 in scoring defense in each of the last three seasons, including No. 2 rankings in 2008 and 2009. The best defensive season by a Lumberjack team in the Division I era was 2008-09, when SFA held the opposition to 56.1 points per game.
DEFENDING THE THREE: The 'Jacks have held the opposition to two or fewer 3-pointers on five occasions this season and are seventh in the nation in defending the three, holding opponents to 28.6 percent from beyond the arc.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Jereal Scott had a career-best 15 rebounds in SFA's loss at UTEP. Including his 14 points, that gave the junior center his second double-double of the season and the fourth of his career.
THREE BELOW: In a recent stretch, SFA held three straight opponents to fewer than 50 points. The only other time that's been done in the program's 25-year history at the NCAA Division I level is 2008-09, when the 'Jacks accomplished the feat against Southeastern Louisiana, Northwestern State and McNeese State in succession. In all, such a streak has only been put together two other times in the last 50 years -- 1985-86 and 1981-82.
THE LONELIEST NUMBER: Jordan Glynn's 15 points marked SFA's only double-figure scorer in the win against Jarvis Christian. The last time the Lumberjacks put just one player in double digits and won was a 68-67 overtime verdict against Nicholls last February, when Walt Harris scored 22 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer. SFA is 5-7 over the last four seasons when only one Lumberjack reaches double figures.
GOOD BACKUP PLAN: The SFA bench has accounted for nearly 40 percent of the Lumberjacks' scoring this season. The 'Jacks have outscored their opponents' benches by an average of 10.4 points per game this season.
TWO MUCH DEFENSE: SFA held its two opponents in the Etech Lumberjack Classic to a combined total of 79 points. Grambling scored 41 and Chicago State put up 38. That's the lowest combined two-game total for a pair of SFA opponents since the 1981-82 season when SFA held East Texas State and Southwest Texas State to 44 and 35 points, respectively, in back-to-back games.
HIGH RATE OF TURNOVER: SFA forced Chicago State into 26 turnovers, a season high for Lumberjack opponents and the most turnovers by an SFA foe since Texas College turned it over 29 times during the 2008-09 season. The Lumberjacks rank 14th in the country in turnover margin at plus-4.3.
ALL-TOURNAMENT: Jereal Scott averaged 14 points and four rebounds in two games at the Etech Lumberjack Classic to earn the tournament's MVP award. Jordan Glynn averaged 9.5 points and 10.5 rebounds to join Scott on the all-tournament team.
STRAIGHT SHOOTING: SFA had its best all-around shooting night of the year in the win against Chicago State. The 'Jacks shot 54.7 percent from the floor, 52.6 percent from 3-point range and 83.9 percent at the foul line. The last time an SFA team shot better than 50 percent overall and from 3-point range and topped 80 percent at the line was Nov. 23, 2004, against Concordia-Austin. The 'Jacks shot 60 percent from the field, 50 percent from 3-point range and 83.3 percent at the stripe.
CLASSIC RESULTS: SFA is now 4-0 in the Etech Lumberjack Classic after hosting the event for the second straight year. The 'Jacks are 10-0, all-time, in home, regular-season tournaments. SFA went 4-0 in two years of hosting the Tall Pines Classic in 1975 and 1976, and the 'Jacks picked up two wins in the Stephen F. Austin Tournament in 1963.
TOURNAMENT TEAM: Over the last three seasons, SFA is 9-1 in five regular-season, tournament-format events. The Lumberjacks won two games at the Drake Hy-Vee Classic in 2008-09 and split a pair of contests at the Arkansas Jim Thorpe Classic later that season. Last year, SFA swept two games each in the Etech Lumberjack Classic and the St. Mary's Shamrock Classic, then picked up two wins in the 2010 Etech Classic.
TWO LITTLE: In SFA's nine-point loss at Texas A&M, Denzel Barnes and Jordan Glynn were the only two players to reach double figures in scoring. They combined to score 34 points, or 64 percent of SFA's total of 53 points. Seventeen of the Lumberjacks' 28 losses over the last four seasons have come in games with fewer than three double-figure scorers. SFA is 23-17, overall, in such games, dating to the 2007-08 season.
HALFWAY THERE: In two of its five losses this season, SFA held the lead at halftime. The Lumberjacks led Texas Tech by one and had a three-point lead on Texas A&M at the break. SFA was 19-1 last year when leading at the half. The 'Jacks have led at the break in all but five of their games this season and have a 9-2 record in those contests.
ON THE DOWN-LOW: SFA has outscored its opponents in the paint by an average of 9.2 points per game through 16 contests. Forty-three percent of the Lumberjacks' production this season has come from the paint.
POINTS IN THE PAINT: SFA outscored Science and Arts of Oklahoma, 52-14, in the paint. That's the most points down low the Lumberjacks have scored this season and marks just the fifth time in the last four seasons for SFA to break 50. The most post scoring SFA has put up during that stretch was 60 against East Central (Oklahoma) last season.
HIGH-PERCENTAGE: SFA's dominance in the post against USAO directly contributed to the Lumberjacks' best shooting percentage of the season. SFA hit 55.7 percent from the field, bettering the 50-percent effort the 'Jacks put up at ULM.
SECOND CHANCES: SFA averages 13.9 offensive rebounds per game, and the Lumberjacks are making the most of those second chances. SFA has been outscored in second-chance points only once this season and more than a fifth of SFA's offensive production has come via second-chance points.
ON THE REBOUND: SFA was beaten in rebounding, 34-19, in its win at ULM. It marked the first time this season for the Lumberjacks to be outrebounded and is the largest margin in an opponent's favor since Syracuse beat SFA on the boards, 55-34, in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament. The Lumberjacks won just four times last season in games when they were outrebounded. They are 1-2 in such contests this year.
DOWN(ING) TO THE WIRE: SFA defeated ULM, 65-64, on a 3-pointer by Zac Downing with three seconds left. SFA was 3-4 last season in games decided by three points or fewer, and the 'Jacks are 12-9 in such games over the last four years.
AGAINST THE BIG XII: SFA is 2-9 against teams from the Big XII in 10 years under head coach Danny Kaspar. The Lumberjacks knocked off Baylor, 79-57, in Waco during the 2003-04 season and defeated Oklahoma, 66-62, on the road in 2007-08. With games against Texas Tech and Texas A&M in 2010-11, this season marks the third time in the last four years for SFA to play two Big XII opponents.
HOME NON-CONFERENCE: With an 8-0 start at home this season, SFA has now won 28 of its last 29 home, non-conference games, dating to the 2006-07 season. The only loss during that stretch is a two-point defeat against Texas Tech last season. The Lumberjacks are 57-4, overall, in home, non-conference games in 11 seasons under head coach Danny Kaspar.
PERFECT AT THE LINE: Freshman point guard Darius Gardner went 10-for-10 at the foul line in SFA's win over Longwood. That's the first time since the 2004-05 season a Lumberjack has hit at least 10 free throws in a single game without missing. Marcus Clark last accomplished that feat by going 11-for-11 at Sam Houston State in the 2004-05 season. That performance came right after a 15-for-15 showing by Clark at Louisiana-Monroe. In 10-plus seasons under head coach Danny Kaspar, SFA players have gone perfect in at least 10 attempts at the stripe only five times. Clark had three such games and Stevin Ozier did it once.
HIGH-SCORING: The 114 points SFA scored against Howard Payne marks the highest offensive output by a Lumberjack team in Danny Kaspar's 10-plus seasons as head coach. It's just the eighth time in Kaspar's tenure for the 'Jacks to break into triple-digits. The last time an SFA team scored more than 114 points was in the 1996-97 home opener when Derek Allister's squad beat Schreiner College, 138-69. Only that total and the 126 points SFA put up against Texas Wesleyan in the 1994-95 campaign top the Lumberjacks' output against Howard Payne in SFA's history at the Division I level.
MARGINAL: The 65-point margin of victory in SFA's 114-49 win over Howard Payne is the widest margin of Danny Kaspar's tenure and the biggest point spread for the 'Jacks since a 138-69 win over Schreiner College in 1994-95.
CENTER OF THE SCORING: Junior center Jereal Scott put up a career-high 27 points in the season opener against Howard Payne. That's the most points scored by a Lumberjack since Matt Kingsley -- Scott's predecessor at the five spot -- scored 29 in a win at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi during the 2007-08 season.
PARTY OF FIVE: SFA has put five players in double figures on two separate occasions this season. Against Howard Payne, Jereal Scott, Jordan Glynn, Eddie Williams, Amos Olatayo and Zac Downing all reached double digits. Glynn, Scott, Olatayo, Brandon Cutler and Dion Prewster all reached double figures against Science and Arts of Oklahoma. That feat has been achieved 17 times in Danny Kaspar's tenure as head coach. The 'Jacks put five in double figures only three times last season.
DOUBLING UP: Both Jordan Glynn and Jereal Scott had double-doubles against Howard Payne (Glynn 15p, 14r; Scott 27p, 10r). Two players recorded double-doubles in the same contest on three occasions last season. Glynn and Scott shared two double-double games, while Eddie Williams and Glynn shared one.
FRESH PERSPECTIVE: Freshman Amos Olatayo came off the bench for 10 points in SFA's win over Howard Payne. That marks the first time since the 2005-06 season for a Lumberjack freshman to reach double figures in the season opener. Josh Alexander was the last SFA rookie to achieve the feat, scoring 10 points in a road win over Tulsa.
BELOW FIFTY: SFA has held seven opponents below 50 points so far this season. In 10-plus seasons under Danny Kaspar the Lumberjacks have held an opponent to 50 points or fewer on 49 occasions.
SEASON OPENERS: SFA is now 7-4 in season-opening games under head coach Danny Kaspar. The Lumberjacks have compiled a 12-13 record in season openers as a Division I program (since 1986-87 season). Under Kaspar, the Lumberjacks are 6-0 when opening the season at home and 11-6 in home season openers overall as a Division I program. SFA is 1-4 under Kaspar when opening on the road and is just 1-7, in all, as a Division I program when playing the season opener on the road. The Lumberjacks' only season-opening road win in the last 23 seasons was an 82-72 verdict at Tulsa to start the 2005-06 campaign.
HOME OPENER: SFA knocked off Howard Payne, 114-49, in the 2010-11 home opener. Head coach Danny Kaspar's teams are a perfect 11-0 in home openers at SFA. The last time an SFA team failed to win its home opener was a 67-55 loss to Texas A&M in 1998.
SAFE AT HOME: In 10-plus seasons under head coach Danny Kaspar, the Lumberjacks have compiled a 123-30 (.804) record in the William R. Johnson Coliseum. SFA is 319-121 (.725) all-time in the Coliseum. SFA needs just one more home win to give the 'Jacks six straight seasons and eight campaigns in nine years with double-digit wins at home.
EXPERIENCE: SFA has five returning players -- including four starters -- from last season. But with three of the five being junior college transfers in their second year with the Lumberjacks, SFA has only eight years of Division I basketball experience on the 2010-11 roster. That figure is tied for the 10th-fewest years of D-I experience in the nation. Eastern Washington has the fewest combined years of collegiate experience in the nation at four.
FRESH FACES: SFA has eight newcomers -- including transfer Mark Walton, who is redshirting -- on the roster for the 2010-11 season. That figure is tied for the fifth-highest number of first-year players during Danny Kaspar's tenure as head coach.
STEADY EDDIE: A back injury forced guard Eddie Williams to miss SFA's game against Texas College last season. That marked the first time in his career for Williams to miss action. He had played in all 76 games -- including 32 in each of his first two seasons -- coming into the contest against the Steers. He has now played in 111 total games with 70 starting appearances as a Lumberjack.
SITTIN' ON 20: With its victory against A&M-Corpus last year, SFA broke the 20-win barrier for the third consecutive season and the fifth time in Danny Kaspar's 10 years as head coach. Prior to Kaspar's tenure, the only 20-win season in the program's history at the Division I level was the 22-8 record put up by the 'Jacks in the 1986-87 campaign, the program's first as a D-I team.
RELIABLE ASSISTANCE: Point guard Denzel Barnes averages 4.3 assists per game, which ranks fourth in the Southland Conference. Barnes dished out a career-high eight assists against Chicago State and has posted five or more assists on five occasions this year.
-- SFA --
