Stephen F. Austin
Ouachita Baptist
`Jacks Down OBU To Win Fifth Straight
12/7/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Senior Jacob Parker recorded a season-high 23 points and added eight rebounds, as the Stephen F. Austin men’s basketball team picked up their fifth straight victory in a 84-60 win over Ouachita Baptist on Sunday afternoon inside William R. Johnson Coliseum.
Parker paced the Lumberjacks (6-3), who placed four in double figures, shooting 4-of-5 from the floor with a made 3-pointer. The native of Bixby, Oklahoma, did the majority of his damage against the Tigers (5-3) from the charity stripe, netting a career-high 14 free throws on 16 attempts. His eight boards also led all, pulling down six on the defensive end.
Parker was not the only SFA player to make the most of his time at the line, as junior Trey Pinkney finished with a career-best 11 points. Pinkney shot a career-high 9-of-10 from the stripe, all coming in the first half.
Juniors Jared Johnson and Clide Geffrard joined Parker and Pinkney in double figures, recording 11 and 10 points, respectfully. Junior Demetrious Floyd finished with nine points on 3-of-6 shooting from 3-point land.
The ‘Jacks won the battle under the basket, out rebounding OBU 44-26, and forced 20 turnovers which they turned into 19 points. SFA outscored the Tigers 34-19 off the bench.
OBU started quickly, taking a 4-0 lead to force an early timeout by head coach Brad Underwood less than two minutes into the game. The ‘Jacks responded out of the break, posting a 7-0 run over the next 2:20, before both teams traded the lead six more times in the first half.
Down 14-12, Johnson hit his first of three 3-pointers to put SFA on top 15-14 with 11:46 before the end of the half. The ‘Jacks maintained the advantage the rest of the way, building their lead to as high as 14 points, entering the break up 39-25.
Parker was the only player to score double figures in the first half, recording 12 points with 10 made free throws, as Pinkney netted nine points.
The Tigers opened the first 1:38 of the second half on a 7-2 run to cut the lead to nine points at 41-32. However, Parker quickly hit his lone 3-point attempt of the game on the next possession to put SFA back up by double figures. The double-digit lead never waned the rest of the way and built to 27 points with just over three minutes remaining, before arriving at the eventual 84-60 final.
The ‘Jacks will enjoy a few days off before continuing their homestand. SFA will play its third of five straight games inside WRJ Coliseum on Sunday, Dec. 14, hosting North Texas in a 3 p.m. tip.
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Brad Underwood
Underwood opening comments…
“Ecstatic about the win. Hard game. It was a hard game against a very good team. Coach (Dennis) Nutt does a great job. He has been at the Division I level and had a lot of success.
“It was a game that was a challenge heading into finals. After the week we’ve had, I expected that a little bit. I was disappointed with our effort, especially in the first half, but I get it. I’ve been around and I know it has been a big week, emotionally and travel wise.
“I thought we did a great job in the first half getting to the foul line, that’s what the difference was. I thought we were out of position a little bit defensively. We didn’t have the same zip as Friday night, but give credit to Ouachita Baptist. Those kids did a good job. They have a bunch of transfers, some of who have been here before and faced what we do.
“Can’t say enough about the job that Trey Pinkney did defensively. I thought he controlling the whole game, both leading us as our quarterback and secondly with his defensive pressure throughout most of the game.”
Underwood on success at the free throw line…
“That’s what good players do. Good players step up to the free throw line and that’s why they call it a free one. You have to have a mental toughness to stand in there and make it. We practice them a lot. (Jacob Parker and Trey Pinkney) are two veterans and you expect them to make it.
“I thought we did a nice job. We were assertive in the first half. We came up with some offensive rebounds that we got fouled on and that’s what we try to do. I will always be pleased with 18 offensive rebounds, and again, in a night we weren’t particularly sharp on the offensive end.”
Underwood on quick timeout…
“We work very, very hard on preparing our players for what the opponent does, and it was a quick turn. But we work hard on trying to take away reversals and so forth. Their first two possessions, they did anything they wanted to do. I sensed we weren’t quite emotionally in tune with what we needed to do, so I just wanted to remind them of what our purpose was today, and that was try to win a basketball game. That’s all it was, just to get their attention.”
Underwood on balanced offense…
“We are getting there, we are getting there. Guys are starting to feel more comfortable. Clide Geffrard is a terrific offensive talent that can score in so many ways. I think we have gotten to see a little bit of Jared Johnson’s offensive capabilities. Demetrious Floyd had nine points, one away from being our fifth in double figures, and those reads he had to make getting the corner are reads he wasn’t making two weeks ago. He is a very capable shooter. And anytime you go 10-of-20 from three that means we’ve done a pretty good job. We had 16 assists on 22 made field goals. We are continuing to get better. I hope that we have four or five guys score in double figures on a consistent basis.”
Underwood on week between games…
“Very much needed. It has been an unbelievably busy month of November just from a travel perspective. We got home at 4 a.m. from Memphis and we had little preparation for a NCAA Tournament team in Long Beach State. Then we played them on Friday night and, obviously we played very well, but we had to turnaround and have a game on Sunday.
“Now they have to turnaround mentally and get ready for finals. We will take a couple of days off. We’ll have some individual workouts and then we get a very good North Texas team that poses some different problems and challenges. We also get to get back and work on our stuff. We spend a tone of time in prep, so it is nice to get back and refocus on some fundamental things we need to clean up.”
Senior Jacob Parker
Parker on success verse Ouachita Baptist …
“Obviously a lot came at the free throw line. They were playing aggressive, so I had a lot of opportunities to that allowed me to score some easy points. My teammates also put me in good positions, and I know they trust me whenever I have the ball in my hands.”
Parker on week between games…
“With five road games and then these two quick ones here at home, it will be nice to be home and focus on our studies during this time before we face North Texas.”
-SFA-
