GAME NOTES: at Northwestern State
3/4/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 4, 2011
NACOGDOCHES, Texas -
Complete Release in PDF Format 
VITALS
Stephen F. Austin at Northwestern State
Saturday, March 5, 2011 • 2:00 p.m. (CST)
Prather Coliseum (3,400) • Natchitoches, La.
Radio: KTBQ 107.7 FM • TV: None • Online: nsudemons.com
Lumberjacks
Record: 18-9 (9-6)
Last 5/Streak: 3-2/L-1
Coach: Danny Kaspar
Career: 418-174
At SFA: 199-122
SID: Brian Ross
E-mail: rossbrian@sfasu.edu
Web: sfajacks.com
Demons
Record: 17-13 (9-6)
Last 5/Streak: 2-3/L-1
Coach: Mike McConathy
Career: 535-346
At NWLA: 183-187
SID: Doug Ireland
E-mail: ireland@nsula.edu
Web: nsudemons.com
GAME INFORMATION
ONE FOR THE ROAD: The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjack basketball team will wrap up the 2010-11 regular season on the road against Northwestern State Saturday with heavy postseason implications. Pending the SFA-Northwestern State outcome and the verdicts in three other Southland games, SFA could still finish in a tie for the Southland title and stands to be seeded anywhere from fifth to second in next week's State Farm Southland Conference Basketball Tournament (see first bullet point under "NEWS AND NOTES" for detail). The 'Jacks come into Saturday's game with an 18-9 record. Northwestern State is 17-13. The teams are tied for third in the Southland with 9-6 league records. Both squads are still in the hunt for a share of the conference title.
LAST GAME: SFA missed eight of its first nine shots and never recovered, falling in a 55-40 loss to Sam Houston State Wednesday at home. The Lumberjacks trailed by as many as 19 and never got within single digits in the second half. The 15-point final margin is the largest margin of defeat for the 'Jacks this season. Gilberto Clavell scored 17 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to lead the Bearkats, who shot 52 percent as a team. The Lumberjacks shot just 39.5 percent from the field with Jordan Glynn and Jereal Scott scoring 10 points apiece to lead the way. Sam Houston outrebounded SFA, 34-19, matching both the biggest rebounding advantage by an opponent and the fewest boards recorded by the 'Jacks this season. The Bearkats outscored SFA, 34-16, in the paint.
THE DEMONS: Northwestern State has hovered near the top of the Southland standings all season. The Demons went 2-2 to open league play, then rattled off wins in five of their next six games. Since then, though, Northwestern has lost three of five games, and the Demons are coming off a two-point overtime loss at Nicholls. Their last two games have both gone to overtime, and Northwestern has played in four overtime games this season, all in conference play. The Demons are 12-3 at home for the year.
vs. NORTHWESTERN STATE: SFA is 50-59, all-time, against the Demons. The Lumberjacks are 10-9 against Northwestern in 11 seasons under head coach Danny Kaspar. SFA has won four straight, but the series is split evenly over the last 10 meetings. The 'Jacks are 5-3 against the Demons in Natchitoches during Kaspar's tenure.
COVERAGE: Saturday's game will be broadcast live on KTBQ 107.7 FM. Rob Meyers has the call. The pregame show will begin 15 minutes prior to the 2 p.m. tip. The game will be streamed live online at nsudemons.com. Live stats are also available.
UP NEXT: The Lumberjacks will head to Katy for the State Farm Southland Conference Basketball Tournament. The men's tournament begins Wednesday with four first-round games. Seeding and schedule will be announced Saturday night after all regular-season games have concluded.
NEWS AND NOTES
SOUTHLAND SCENARIOS: If SFA defeats Northwestern State, Lamar beats McNeese State and Sam Houston beats Texas State, SFA will finish in a four-team tie for first place. The Lumberjacks would be the No. 4 seed in the tournament in this scenario. If SFA wins and Texas State and McNeese State both win, SFA would be the No. 3 seed. If SFA wins, Texas State wins and McNeese loses, SFA would be the No. 2 seed. If SFA wins, McNeese wins and Texas State loses, SFA would be the No. 4 seed. If SFA loses to Northwestern and Nicholls beats Southeastern Louisiana, SFA would be the No. 4 seed. If SFA loses and Southeastern Louisiana wins, SFA would be the No. 5 seed. No other games on Saturday can affect SFA's seeding.
HOME INVASION: SFA's 55-40 loss to Sam Houston State in the home finale marks the Lumberjacks' third loss at home of this season. That marks the first time since 2006-07 for SFA to lose at least three home games in a single campaign. The 'Jacks went 10-5 at home in 2006-07.
LOW POINT: The 40 points SFA scored against Sam Houston State set a Johnson Coliseum record for fewest points scored by the 'Jacks. The previous record was 41 in a 52-41 loss to Southeastern Louisiana in February of 1995.
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 122 total games with 80 starting appearances as a Lumberjack. On senior night against Sam Houston, he tied Matt Kingsley for the most games played by a Lumberjack in SFA's history at the Division I level.
BREAKING OUT IN HUNTSVILLE: SFA's win at Sam Houston State was the program's first in Huntsville since the 2003-04 season. The 63 points the 'Jacks put up are the second-most recorded in a regular-season game in Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum, and the 14-point margin of victory is the second-largest regular-season spread against the 'Kats for an SFA team in 11 seasons under head coach Danny Kaspar.
STRAIGHT SHOOTING: SFA posted its best shooting effort of the season in its win at Sam Houston State. The 'Jacks hit 59.5 percent from the field, 50 percent from 3-point range and 81.8 percent at the foul line. That marks the second time this season for SFA to shoot at least 50 percent from the field and 3-point range and beat 80 percent at the stripe. The Sam Houston win marked SFA's best shooting night since a Nov. 23, 2004 game against Concordia-Austin when the 'Jacks hit 60 percent from the field, 50 percent from 3-point range and 83.3 percent at the line.
PERIMETER GAME: Darius Gardner scored 15 points, and Antonio Bostic and Eddie Williams added 13 points each in SFA's win at Sam Houston State. That marks the only time this season for three perimeter players to reach double figures scoring in the same contest.
CAREER DAY: Jordan Glynn scored a career-high 26 points in SFA's 75-68 win at A&M-Corpus Christi. He also hit a career-best nine field goals (9-12) and was 8-for-8 at the foul line, tying a career mark. The senior now has four 20-point games in his career, three of them coming this season.
CORPUS CONNECTED: A&M-Corpus Christi has put up two of the top three shooting percentages by an SFA opponent this season. The Islanders shot .556 from the field -- the top mark by a Lumberjack foe -- in their 46-45 win over SFA on Jan. 29. In SFA's 75-68 win at Corpus Christi, the Islanders shot 51.1 percent. The only other opponent to shoot better than 50 percent against the 'Jacks this season is Texas Tech (.518). SFA is 1-2 when the opposition shoots 50 percent or better.
PAINT THINNER: Lamar outscored SFA, 34-24, in the paint in the Lumberjacks' 60-55 win over the Cardinals. That marked the third straight game and the sixth time in eight contests for the 'Jacks to be outscored in the paint. SFA went 5-3 during that stretch.
BOARD MEETING: Lamar outrebounded SFA, 38-30, in the Lumberjacks' win at home. That marked the first time in 15 games for SFA to lose the rebounding battle and is just the fourth time this season for the 'Jacks to be beaten on the boards. The last time SFA got outrebounded at home was a 13-point win over McNeese State on Feb. 13 of last season.
TWO-YEAR TOTALS: Jordan Glynn could become just the second two-year player in SFA's Division I history to finish his career with 500 points and 500 rebounds. Javan Rouzan first accomplished the feat, putting up 670 points and 564 rebounds in 1994-95 and 1995-96. Glynn has amassed 587 points and needs just 15 more rebounds to reach 500. If Glynn holds to his career average of 8.2 rebounds per game, he could break the 500 mark during the Southland Conference Tournament.
LOW-BALLED: The 46 points A&M-Corpus Christi put up in its win over SFA tied for the fewest points by a Lumberjack opponent in an SFA loss over the last 11 seasons. In 11 years under Danny Kaspar, the 'Jacks have held the opposition below 50 points and lost only five times.
BONUS BASKETBALL: SFA's one-point loss at UT Arlington and three-point win over Texas State both went to overtime. That's just the sixth time in program history for the 'Jacks to play consecutive overtime contests. The last time it happened was 2001-02. SFA has never played in three straight overtime games.
CENTER OF THE SCORING: Junior center Jereal Scott put up a career-high 30 points in SFA's win against Texas State. That's the most points scored by a Lumberjack since Matt Kingsley -- Scott's predecessor at the five spot -- scored 33 in a win over Jackson State during the 2008-09 season.
SCORING SPIKE: The 70 points Texas State scored are the most allowed by SFA in a win this season and the most allowed by the 'Jacks in a home game this year. That game broke a streak of 37 consecutive home contests without allowing 70 points.
BOUNCING BACK: SFA is 7-1 this season in games following a loss. Over the last three seasons, the 'Jacks are 19-0 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.
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 have reeled off 15 straight home wins against the East. SFA is 18-1 at home against East Division teams, and have a 30-7 overall mark against teams in that division.
BLOWN LEAD: SFA led at UT Arlington by 15 points with 14 minutes to play in the second half, but the Mavericks came back to win, 66-65, in overtime. That's the largest lead the 'Jacks have lost this season. The largest deficit overcome by SFA this season was nine points in the 68-59 win at UTSA.
LOOSE BOARDS: SFA outrebounded UT Arlington, 44-34, in the road loss. That's the first time this season for the Lumberjacks to pull down more than 40 boards in a defeat. The last time SFA put up that many rebounds in a loss was a 54-board effort in a 69-55 loss at Texas Tech in 2008-09.
SWEEP: UT Arlington's two-game sweep of SFA marks the first time since the 2006-07 season that a Southland opponent has taken two regular-season meetings with the 'Jacks. That year, SFA was swept by Sam Houston State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and UTSA.
INSIDE-OUT: UT Arlington outscored SFA in the paint in both of the Mavericks' wins against the 'Jacks this season. Additionally, the Mavs hit eight 3-pointers in each game, tying with Texas A&M for the second-most by an SFA opponent this season.
TOE THE LINE: SFA shot a season-best 20-for-21 at the foul stripe in its home win against UTSA. There was little margin for error, as the Roadrunners connected on 20 of their 22 attempts. That marks the first time in 11 seasons under head coach Danny Kaspar for two teams to both connect on better than 90 percent at the foul stripe.
PREWSTER AGAINST UTSA: Junior forward Dion Prewster has had two of his best performances of the season against UTSA. In the first game against the Roadrunners, he scored a career-high 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting. In SFA's home win against UTSA, he had 10 points on a 3-for-4 effort. In all, he's averaged 11.5 points against the Roadrunners and has shot 80 percent from the field with a .750 average from 3-point range.
PARTY OF FIVE: SFA has put five players in double figures on three 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. Williams, Glynn, Scott, Darius Gardner and Prewster hit double digits against UTSA. That feat has been achieved 18 times in Danny Kaspar's tenure as head coach. The 'Jacks put five in double figures only three times last season.
ROAD TESTED: SFA's win at Nicholls broke a streak of four straight losses in Thibodaux. Earlier this season, the 'Jacks topped Sam Houston in Huntsville, ending a five-game road losing streak against the Bearkats. Those were the longest active road losing streaks for SFA against Southland opponents.
CENTRAL TO THE WIN: Center Jereal Scott scored 20 points with 10 rebounds in SFA's win at Nicholls. Scott now has five 20-point efforts in his career and five double-doubles.
THREE-FOR-ALL: Nicholls made 11 of its 29 3-point attempts in SFA's 64-57 win. The last time a Lumberjack opponent made more than 10 threes in an SFA win was 2002-03, when McNeese State went 11-of-20 in a 79-69 Lumberjack victory. That same season, Jackson State hit 13 of 40 attempts in a 103-79 verdict, and the 'Jacks topped Oral Roberts, 71-68, despite an 11-for-20 effort by the Golden Eagles.
COMEBACK: SFA trailed by eight early in the second half against McNeese State before coming back to win. That's the second-largest deficit the Lumberjacks have overcome this season. SFA was down by nine in its first win against UTSA before coming back to win.
SECOND-HALF SHOOTING: In its wins over UTSA (01-15) and McNeese State, SFA was down at the half. But the 'Jacks upped their shooting percentage by more than 20 percent in the second period of each half. SFA went from shooting 34.8 percent before halftime against the Roadrunners to 57.7 percent in the second period. Against the Cowboys, SFA opened the game with a 40.9-percent effort and raised its shooting to 63 percent in the second half. That marks three times this year and just seven in the last four seasons for the 'Jacks to up their shooting by 20-plus percentage points between halves.
BACK-TO-BACK LOSSES: SFA dropped consecutive games for the first time this season, losing at home to A&M-Corpus Christi, then on the road against Texas State. The 'Jacks didn't lose two in a row last season and have only lost consecutive contests four times in the last four campaigns. The last time SFA lost more than two in a row was 2006-07, when the 'Jacks dropped three straight to end the regular season then lost in the first round of the Southland Tournament.
WASTED EFFORT: SFA shot 49 percent in its loss at Texas State. That mark stands as the third-best effort in a road game this season and is the Lumberjacks' best shooting percentage in a loss this year. The last time SFA shot better than 49 percent in a loss was the 2009-10 regular-season finale, when the 'Jacks shot 51 percent in a two-point defeat against UTSA.
THIN AT THE LINE: SFA was 0-for-2 at the free throw line after halftime in the loss at Texas State. That's the fewest second-half foul shots the Lumberjacks have attempted this season. SFA was 9-of-11 for the game.
HOMEWRECKERS: SFA won its first nine home games of the year before dropping a 62-52 decision at home against UT Arlington. The 'Jacks dropped their next home game as well, a 46-45 loss to A&M-Corpus Christi. That marked the first time since 2006-07 for SFA to lose consecutive home games. That year, SFA lost to A&M-Corpus then dropped a home game against Northwestern State. The 'Jacks have lost consecutive home games only seven times in 11 seasons under head coach Danny Kaspar.
SHUFFLING THE DECK: SFA used the same starting lineup through the first eight games of the season and went 6-2 in that stretch. Since then, though, injuries have forced the 'Jacks to use seven different lineups, and SFA is 12-7 over that span.
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.
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 five times this season, all in losses.
PLAYING THE PERCENTAGES: The most distinct statistical difference between SFA's 18 wins and nine losses is shooting percentage. The 'Jacks have shot 49.7 percent in games won but just 39.5 percent in their defeats. At the other end of the floor, the opposition has shot 38.1 percent in SFA wins but 48.0 percent in the seven Lumberjack losses.
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 50 points or fewer in nine of 16 games at home this season. The Lumberjacks are allowing just 51.6 points per game at home for the year.
DEFENSE FIRST: The Lumberjacks lead the nation in scoring defense. At 56.0 points per game allowed, SFA is on pace to set a new school record for average points allowed in the shot clock era. 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 eight occasions this season and are fourth in the nation in defending the three, holding opponents to 28.3 percent from beyond the arc.
THREE BELOW: SFA held three straight opponents -- Grambling State, Chicago State and Jarvis Christian -- 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.
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.
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.
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. Twenty of the Lumberjacks' 32 losses over the last four seasons have come in games with fewer than three double-figure scorers. SFA is 24-20, overall, in such games, dating to the 2007-08 season.
HALFWAY THERE: In five of its nine losses this season, SFA held the lead at halftime. The Lumberjacks led Texas Tech by one at the break, had a three-point lead on Texas A&M, led A&M-Corpus Christi by five and were up one at Texas State. SFA was 19-1 last year when leading at the half. The 'Jacks have led at the break in all but seven of their games this season and have a 12-5 record in those contests.
ON THE DOWN-LOW: Forty-two 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.
ON THE REBOUND: SFA was beaten in rebounding, 34-19, in its win at ULM and in its home loss to Sam Houston State. That marks the lowest single-game total for the 'Jacks this season and 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 2-3 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 is 2-2 this season in games decided by three points or fewer, and the 'Jacks are 13-11 in such games over the last four years.
HOME NON-CONFERENCE: With an 8-0 pre-conference record at home, 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.
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.
BELOW FIFTY: SFA has held 10 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 52 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 127-32 (.799) record in the William R. Johnson Coliseum. SFA is 323-123 (.724) all-time in the Coliseum. SFA has recorded six straight seasons and eight campaigns in nine years with double-digit wins at home.
-- SFA --
