Stephen F. Austin
Mcneese State
`Jacks Top McNeese With Strong Second Half
2/5/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 5, 2011
Box Score |
Photo Gallery 
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Antonio Bostic scored 14 of his career-high 16 points after halftime Saturday to spark Stephen F. Austin to its best second half of the season and a 65-50 win over Southland Conference leader McNeese State in the William R. Johnson Coliseum. The `Jacks shot a blistering 63 percent from the field after the half, outscoring McNeese State, 45-24, to get their first win at home in three tries and put the brakes on a two-game skid.
With the victory, SFA moves to 13-7 overall and 4-4 in Southland play. The Cowboys fall to 13-8 on the year and 5-3 against the league.
The Lumberjacks trailed 26-20 at the break. SFA shot a solid 41 percent in the first half but committed eight turnovers leading to 12 McNeese State points. The `Jacks had just one point off four Cowboy turnovers in the first period. McNeese likewise held a 10-5 edge in second-chance scoring at halftime.
But SFA won the second half on hustle plays, outscoring the Cowboys, 15-4, in second-chance buckets and posting an 8-4 edge in points off turnovers.
McNeese had pushed its six-point lead to eight early in the second half with dunks from Patrick Richard on consecutive possessions, but Bostic responded by hitting SFA's first 3-point basket of the game. He was whistled for a technical foul immediately after the bucket, leading to a pair of Cowboy free throws at the other end.
The technical foul gave Bostic three personals with more than 17 minutes to play, and SFA head coach Danny Kaspar had a substitute waiting at the scorer's table to replace him. But Kaspar opted to leave Bostic on the court, and he responded. The sophomore guard rebounded his own missed shot on the next possession, leading to a layup by senior Eddie Williams to trim the lead back to five (34-29).
Williams got to the line following an offensive board on the next SFA touch and hit a free throw to make it a four-point game. After another Lumberjack offensive board, Bostic canned a long jumper to get his team within two, then Williams fed freshman point guard Darius Gardner for a fast-break layup to tie the game at 34 with 14:10 to play.
Jordan Glynn and Jereal Scott would combine for six more points over the next four possessions to finish off the 13-0 run and give SFA a 40-34 advantage. By the time P.J. Alawoya broke the Cowboy drought with an offensive rebound and put-back dunk, McNeese had missed seven straight shot attempts and turned the ball over four times.
The Cowboys would tie the score again at 48 with 5:08 to play, but SFA held McNeese without another basket and finished the game on a 17-2 run to set the final margin. Bostic connected for a pair of 3-pointers during the stretch run - one of them a four-point play - to give him a career-best three for the night.
Glynn was 3-for-3 from the field in the second half, when he scored nine of his game-high 17 points. The senior forward also pulled down 13 boards in 38 minutes of action for his team-leading sixth double-double of the season. Scott added 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, and Williams and Gardner each had seven points. Gardner dished out six assists, while Williams handed out five.
Alawoya scored 16 points to lead the Cowboys. Richard added 13.
The win gave SFA nine straight verdicts at home against the Cowboys and marked only the third time in six games this year for the Lumberjacks to win after trailing at the half.
The `Jacks outrebounded McNeese, 40-20, marking the fourth time this season for SFA to post a rebounding margin of greater than 20. The 45 points the Lumberjacks put up after halftime are the team's best second-half total since scoring 47 against Wiley College on Jan. 3.
Saturday's win continued a strong home record against teams from the Southland Conference East Division. SFA is now 17-1 in home games against competition from the East and has won 15 consecutive matchups in Johnson Coliseum.
SFA will stay in the East Division when it travels to Nicholls on Feb. 9 to take on the Colonels. The `Jacks haven't won in Thibodaux, La., since the 2004-05 season. The game against the Colonels is set to start at 6:30 p.m.
-- SFA --
