
`Jacks Hold Off Lamar
2/23/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 23, 2011
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NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Senior Eddie Williams scored six of his 12 points in the final six minutes Wednesday night, helping Stephen F. Austin hold off a late charge from Lamar for a 60-55 win in Johnson Coliseum.
The win keeps SFA in the hunt for a Southland Conference championship, as the Lumberjacks (17-8) are tied for third in the league with an 8-5 conference record. League leaders Texas State and McNeese State kept themselves a game ahead of SFA with wins on Wednesday. Lamar drops to 12-15 overall and 6-7 in Southland action.
SFA led by 10 (40-30) with 11:46 to play in the second half. Lamar connected on its next four field goal attempts with a pair of free throws in the mix to close to within four, at 45-41, by the 6:58 mark.
But Williams got a fast-break layup to stretch the SFA lead back to six, and he knocked down a jumper two possessions later to make it a nine-point game with 5:08 to play. Senior point guard Denzel Barnes, playing in his first game since breaking his hand on Jan. 12, assisted on the layup.
Williams put the margin back at nine with 2:34 to play on another fast-break layup, this time going the length of the floor himself after pulling down a defensive rebound. But Lamar answered with a 7-0 spurt to make it a two-point game with 17 seconds left.
Dion Prewster broke Cardinal pressure in the backcourt on the next SFA possession and was fouled with 14 seconds to play. He hit the first of two free throw attempts, and the Lumberjacks came away with possession with five seconds on the clock after a wild 3-point attempt by Lamar.
Senior Jordan Glynn was fouled on the inbound play and knocked down both free throws to set the final margin.
SFA was outrebounded for just the fourth time this season as Lamar pulled down 38 boards, a new season-high for Lumberjack opponents. The Cardinals outscored SFA, 11-4, in second-chance points, marking just the fourth time that's happened this season.
The `Jacks finished with 30 rebounds, led by eight from Jereal Scott. The junior center scored a team-best 13 points before fouling out with 17 seconds to go. Antonio Bostic added 11 points.
Prewster provided a spark off the bench in the first period. Shortly after checking in, he drained a 3-pointer at the 11:43 mark to erase Lamar's only lead of the night. Prewster blocked a Cardinal shot under the basket at the other end, then hit a second 3-pointer with 10:31 to play in the half, giving SFA a five-point lead. He finished with nine points and five rebounds.
Barnes added three points and three assists in 16 minutes in his return to the court. Glynn finished with eight points and five rebounds. Freshman point guard Darius Gardner didn't find the scoring column, but had six assists against just two turnovers.
Mike James scored 17 points off the bench to lead Lamar. Anthony Miles added 13, and Devon Lamb pulled down 11 rebounds, becoming just the second opposing player this season to record double-digit boards against the `Jacks.
SFA will be back in action Sunday, when the Lumberjacks travel to take on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The game against the Islanders is set for a 1 p.m. tip from the American Bank Center.
-- SFA --