SFA Heads To Louisiana
2/26/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 26, 2014
Game 28 - Stephen F. Austin (RV) (25-2, 14-0 SLC) at New Orleans (11-11, 8-6 SLC)
Date/Time: Thursday, Feb. 27 • 7:45 p.m. (CT)
Site: Lakefront Arena (8,933)
Twitter: SFA
Game 29 - Stephen F. Austin (RV) (25-2, 14-0 SLC) at Southeastern Louisiana (11-14, 6-8 SLC)
Date/Time: Saturday, Mar. 1 • 4:30 p.m. (CT)
Site: University Center (7,500)
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Twitter: SFA
Team Information
Stephen F. Austin
Head Coach: Brad Underwood (Kansas State, 1986)
Career Record: 25-2 (1st season), Record at SFA: Same
New Orleans
Head Coach: Mike Slessinger (Aurora University , 1995)
Career Record: 36-44 (3rd season), Record at UNO: Same
Southeastern Louisiana
Head Coach: James D. Yarbough, Jr. (Florida State, 1987)
Career Record: 229-171 (14th season), Record at SLU: 132-131 (9th season)
STORY LINES
• The Stephen F. Austin men's basketball team has opened defense of their 2013 Southland Conference title and 2014 calendar year on a 14-game win streak. The Lumberjacks have prevailed over every league opponent through 14 games and look to become the first SLC school to go undefeated in league play. With the 14-0 start and other results around the league, SFA sits atop the SLC standings and is the only unblemished team in conference play and need one win to clinch a share of the league crown. The `Jacks will become outright champions with two wins or a win and a loss by Sam Houston State with four conference games to go.
• SFA, currently riding a 22-game winning streak, will close its road schedule with two games in Week 17, heading to New Orleans and Southeastern Louisiana. The Thursday game with UNO will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs on the hardwood.
• UNO enters the week having split its last four games under third-year head coach Mike Slessinger. The Privateers are led by senior Cory Dixon's 14.4 PPG, as he is UNO's only double figure scorer on their team.
• SELU enters the week having split its last four games under ninth-year head coach James D. Yarbough, Jr.. The Lions are led by junior JaMichael Hawkins' 13.4 PPG. Hawkins is one of two SELU players averaging in double figures, joined by senior Antonio Benton (12.0 PPG).
The Last Time Out
• Tied 68-68 in the waning seconds, junior Jacob Parker stole a Northwestern State pass and sealed the 22nd-straight victory for the Stephen F. Austin men's basketball team with a dunk with 0.3 seconds remaining in a 70-68 win over Northwestern State on Saturday night in front of a near-capacity crowd of 7,148 inside William R. Johnson Coliseum.
UP NEXT
• The `Jacks will close its regular season schedule with two home games in Week 18, hosting Oral Roberts and Central Arkansas. The Saturday game with UCA will also serve as senior night for Desmond Haymon, Nikola Gajic and Deshaunt Walker.
SFA VS. THE OPPONENT: The Lumberjacks will play their first basketball game against New Orleans, when the two teams meet on Thursday. SFA is 26-15 (.634) all-time against Southeastern Louisiana. Senior Desmond, SFA's only four-year senior, has never won in Hammond, La.
HIGHLIGHT REEL: Tied 68-68 in the waning seconds, junior Jacob Parker stole a Northwestern State pass and sealed the 22nd-straight victory for the Stephen F. Austin men's basketball team with a dunk with 0.3 seconds remaining in a 70-68 win over Northwestern State on Saturday night in front of a near-capacity crowd of 7,148 inside William R. Johnson Coliseum. The play was No. 3 on Sportcenter's Top 10 that night, featured in Sportcenter's fantastic finishes and the No. 2 play on Fox Sport 1's top plays of the night.
1,000 POINTS: Senior guard Desmond Haymon, 28 points shy of 1,000, dropped 30 points against Lamar (2/13/14) and currently sits with 1,026 in his career.
FIRST-YEAR SUCCESS: Already with 25 wins at the helm of the Lumberjacks, head coach Brad Underwood is the program's all-time winningest head coach in their first year at SFA. With the 74-58 victory at Northwestern State (Jan. 16), Underwood passed Glen Rose (1948) and John O. Stephens (1952), who both recorded 15 wins back in their respective first seasons.
VOTE OF CONFIDENCE: After 11 weeks without a vote, SFA received one vote in the USA Today Coaches Poll released on Jan. 20. It was the first time this season and second in the last two years in which the `Jacks received votes in the poll. SFA received its first votes, receiving three, in the AP Top 25 entering Week 15. The `Jacks received votes in both the AP Top 25 and USA Today Coaches Poll last season for the first time since getting votes in both the AP and Coaches Polls during its 2007-08 SLC title season. Entering Week 17, SFA is receiving 11 votes in the AP and five in the Coaches Poll.
MID-MAJOR TOP 25: SFA currently checks in at No. 2 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25., its highest-ever in program history. The `Jacks are and remain to be the only Southland Conference school to make an appearance in the poll this year. The last time SFA was in the poll was the 2012-13 season, reaching as high as No. 5 prior to the NIT, its previous benchmark. The `Jacks also rank sixth in the SB Nation Mid-Major Madness Power 15 Poll.
ROAD WARRIORS: SFA enters the week tied for the nation leads with its 12 overall road wins and sits second in the nation 10-game active road win streak, behind only No. 2 Wichita State.
RPI: Except for one week this season, SFA's RPI has ranked in the top 100 in the country. The Lumberjacks enter the week with their highest RPI mark of the season at 69.
WALKUP NAMED SLC POW: Sophomore guard Thomas Walkup was named the Southland Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week, the league office announced after playing a pivotal role in keeping the Lumberjacks unbeaten in league play. Walkup recorded a career-high 27 points, the margin of SFA's 77-50 victory at Houston Baptist, finishing 11-of-13 from the field and a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line Thursday night. The native of Pasadena, Texas (Deer Park H.S.), then followed with the first double-double of his career, with 21 points and 10 rebounds, in a 80-70 victory at Texas A&M - Corpus Christi on Saturday. Walkup finished 7-of-13 from the floor with two made three-pointers and 5-of-6 free throws along with his 10 boards.
SOUTHLAND OPENERS: SFA's 85-65 win over Lamar marked its third-straight Southland Conference opening victory. SFA, 1-0 in league openers and in league home openers under first-year head coach Brad Underwood, were 7-6 in openers under Danny Kaspar. The `Jacks were also 4-1 under Kaspar in Southland openers at home and 3-5 in league road openers.
HAYMON'S HEROICS: Senior guard Desmond Haymon's 36 points against Cal State Northridge mark the second time a `Jack has scored 30-plus this season and is the first for an SFA player at home since Jereal Scott dropped 30 against Texas College (12/17/11) in the 2011-12 season. It is also the first time a `Jack has scored more than 35 points in a game since 2004. Haymon finished 12-of-17 from the floor, draining four shots from beyond the arc, and 8-of-13 from the charity stripe. Of his 36 points, 30 of those came in the second half. In the second half, the native of Pickens, Miss., shot 10-of-13 from the field, 3-of-6 from three-point range and 7-of-9 from the free throw line.
WALKER NAMED SLC POW: Senior guard Deshaunt Walker was been named the Southland Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week, the league office announced after leading the Lumberjacks with 22 points in 22 minutes off the bench in a 87-53 statement road victory at North Texas on Dec. 15 inside the Super Pit. The native from Silver Springs, Md. (Spring Brook H.S.) was an efficient 7-of-9 from the field, including 5-of-7 from beyond the arc, and made all three of his free throws. He finished two points shy of his career-high while also adding three assists and a steal.
HAYMON NAMED SLC POW: Senior guard Desmond Haymon was named the Southland Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week after helping Stephen F. Austin to a pair of wins and being named the most valuable player of the Etech Lumberjack Classic. Haymon recorded 18 points, with 14 coming in the second half, in a 79-69 win against Towson (Dec. 6). He then followed with a game-high 21 points in win over James Madison (Dec. 7) to keep SFA unblemished at home.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE FOR PARKER: Junior forward Jacob Parker, who went through both his freshman and sophomore year without scoring a double-double, has flourished under first-year head coach Brad Underwood's new system. Parker recorded double-doubles in four of Stephen F. Austin's first seven games. The native of Bixby, Okla., has sense added three more in conference play, recording his fifth in a 28-point, 11-rebound performance against Sam Houston State (Jan. 4), sixth double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds at Northwestern State (Jan. 16) and seventh in a 21-point, 11-board showing at Central Arkansas (Jan. 25). The native of Bixby, Okla., is currently averaging 15.0 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Parker ranks 10th in the SLC in scoring and sixth in rebounds.
PARKER NAMED SLC POW: Junior forward Jacob Parker was named the Southland Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week after recording consecutive double-double performances and helping the Lumberjacks to a 1-1 record in the team's first two games of the First Bank and Trust Company Roundball Showcase. Parker recorded a career-high 31 points and 11 rebounds in SFA's come-from-behind 80-73 victory over Marshall in overtime (Nov. 21). Parker's 31 points marks the first time a `Jack has scored 30 points or more since Jereal Scott put up 30 against Wiley College in 2011. The native from Bixby, Okla., followed up with 19 points and a career-high with 12 boards against East Tennessee State (Nov. 23).
INSIDE WILLIAM R. JOHNSON COLISEUM: Stephen F. Austin enters the week tied for the nation's longest active home court win streak at 31 games with No. 6/7 Duke. SFA, 13-0 inside William R. Johnson Coliseum this season, went all of the 2012-13 season without dropping a match at home en route to the Southland Conference regular season title. The last loss for the `Jacks at home came against UT-Arlington (2/15/12) in the 2011-12 season.
SAFE AT HOME: In 13 seasons under head coach Danny Kaspar and already 25 games under first-year head coach Brad Underwood, the Lumberjacks have compiled a 164-35 (.824) record in the William R. Johnson Coliseum. SFA is 358-126 (.740) all-time in the Coliseum. SFA has recorded nine-straight seasons and 12 campaigns in the last 13 years with double-digit wins at home after its win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi pushed the `Jacks to 15-0 at home last season, tying the best home mark for SFA since going 15-0 at home in 2003-04. Of those 15 wins, 12 came by double digits.
SFA SPOILS HOME DEBUT FOR KASPAR: Sophomore Thomas Walkup recorded a career-high 14 points and junior Jacob Parker recorded the first double-double of his career, as the Stephen F. Austin men's basketball team knocked off Texas State 64-57 to spoil the debut of former head coach Danny Kaspar Tuesday (Nov. 12) night inside Strahan Coliseum. In his 13 years in Nacogdoches, Kaspar posted a 246-141 (.636) overall record and guided the `Jacks to seven 20-win seasons, three Southland Conference regular-season titles, two NIT appearances and a berth in the 2009 NCAA Championship tournament.
UNDERWOOD WINS DEBUT: Junior Jacob Parker and senior Nikola Gajic both recorded career-highs and the Stephen F. Austin men's basketball team placed three Lumberjacks in double-figures, as head coach Brad Underwood picked up his first win at the helm in a 90-64 victory over UT-Tyler Friday, Nov. 8 inside William R. Johnson Coliseum. The win comes one week after SFA beat Arkansas Tech in its exhibition opener on Nov. 1.
SFA PICKED THIRD/FOURTH IN SLC POLLS: The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjack basketball team was picked third and fourth in the Southland Conference preseason polls conducted by coaches and sports information directors, league officials announced Wednesday morning. SFA, the defending 2012-13 SLC regular season champion, was picked fourth in the coaches' poll and in a two-way tie with Sam Houston State in the SID poll, receiving one first place vote.
HAYMON, PARKER NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-SLC TEAMS: Senior Desmond Haymon and junior Jacob Parker were each named to the preseason All-Southland Conference teams for the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjack basketball team, conference officials announced on Wednesday. Haymon was SFA's lone representative on the preseason first team, while Parker earned second team recognition.
UNDERWOOD NAMED HEAD COACH: Brad Underwood was named the 11th head coach of the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjack basketball program on April 23, SFA Director of Athletics Robert Hill announced at a press conference Tuesday afternoon.
QUICK HITS
• SFA, with its 31-game home winning streak, enter Thursday's game tied for the nation's longest active home court mark with No. 6/7 Duke.
• The `Jacks are on a 22-game win streak, which sits second in the nation.
• SFA's 12 overall road wins leads the nation, while its 10-game road win streak is second.
• SFA enters Week 17, T2nd in the nation in win percentage (92.6) & 6th in turnover margin (5.5).
• SFA has the 22nd ranked scoring defense (62.3) & 76th ranked scoring offense (75.0) in the nation.
• Haymon's 30 points at Lamar (2/13/14) put him over 1,000 points for his career and ninth SFA player in the Division I era, currently at 1,026.
• Haymon's 36 points against CSU Northridge (Dec. 30) marks the second time this season a `Jack has scored 30 points or more. Parker recorded 31 points in a overtime win at Marshall (Nov. 21).
• Walker's six made three-pointers at Texas (Nov. 15) is the first for SFA since Kevin Broussard against Wiley College (11/30/2011).
• The Lumberjacks streak of 66 consecutive games of holding an opponent under 70 points ended with their 72-62 loss at Texas (Nov. 15). SFA went all of the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons without allowing 70 points to an opponent.
• SFA is coming off a 27-5 campaign in 2012-13, in which the men set a school record in wins and claimed their third Southland Conference title in program history.
• SFA made its third-ever appearance in the NIT in 2013 at Stanford and first since 2008 when it fell to UMASS. SFA is 1-4 all-time in postseason tournaments.
• Brad Underwood became the 11th head coach in SFA history on April 23, 2013.
• SFA is 1-0 vs. non-Division I programs in the Brad Underwood era.
• Entering the 2013-14 season, Stephen F. Austin and Wisconsin are the only two programs in the nation to be ranked in the top 10 nationally in scoring defense each of the last five seasons.
Series vs. UNO: 0-0, first-ever meeting
Last 5 Meetings with UNO
Season (H/A/N), W/L, Score
N/A
Series vs. SELU: SFA leads 26-15
Last 5 Meetings with SELU
Season (H/A), W/L, Score
2012-13 (N), W, 68-57 (SLC Tournament)
2012-13 (A), L, 54-50
2012-13 (H), W, 52-40
2011-12 (H), W, 63-36
2010-11 (A), L, 64-54
Last meeting with SELU - (2013-14 Season - Jan. 14, 2014, Natchitoches, La.)
The top-seeded Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks withstood a three-point barrage from Southeastern Louisiana and put four players in double figures in a 68-57 win over the Lions in the semifinals of the Southland Conference Tournament on Friday at the Leonard E. Merrell Center.
Series Notes
• Thursday's game at UNO will be the first-ever meeting for SFA the Privateers on the hardwood.
• The `Jacks are 26-15 (.634) all-time against Southeastern Louisiana. Senior Desmond Haymon, SFA's only four-year senior, has never won in Hammond against SELU.
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