Stephen F. Austin
A&M-Corpus Christi
Underwood Nets 50th Career Win, Beat TAMUCC 61-51
1/31/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Head coach Brad Underwood tied for the fifth fastest head coach to reach 50 career wins at the Division I level as the Stephen F. Austin men's basketball teams downed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 61-51 on Saturday night inside William R. Johnson Coliseum.
Underwood joins James A. "Buck" Freeman (St. Johns, 1930) and Brad Stevens (Butler, 2009) with 50 wins in their first 56 games as a head coach.
With the win over the Islanders (11-9, 6-2 SLC), SFA (18-3, 8-0 SLC) extends its nation-leading conference streak to 30 straight victories and share of the second longest overall win streak at 17 consecutive. The `Jacks and Murray State now sit behind only top-ranked Kentucky (21-0) with No. 4 Duke's 69-63 upset of No. 2 Virginia earlier tonight.
Senior Jacob Parker and freshman Ty Charles paced SFA with 12 points apiece, each recording 10 in the second half. Parker finished 5-of-9 from the floor with a made 3-pointer and one free throw, while Charles netted 4-of-7 with two made shots from deep and at the charity stripe. Parker also picked up his 97th career win, tying former teammate Desmond Haymon for the progam's all-time wins mark since moving up to Division I in 1986-87 season.
Sophomore Dallas Cameron and junior Clide Geffrard finished with seven and eight points for the `Jacks, respectfully. Junior Trey Pinkney highlighted the backcourt with six points, six assists and a career-high four steals.
SFA shot 48.9 percent (23-47) from the field, 47.1 percent (8-17) from beyond the arc and 70 percent (7-10) from the foul line. The `Jacks outscored TAMUCC 26-22 in the paint, 27-10 off turnovers, 8-4 in the fast break and 20-13 off the bench.
It was a slow start in the early going, as both team combined for five turnovers across the first 1:30 and no points across the first three minutes of play.
Junior Jared Johnson netted the first points of the game on a layup with 16:59 on the clock and followed with a 3-pointer 1:48 later to put SFA up 5-4. TAMUCC then edged the `Jacks 6-5 over the next 2:18 to even the game 10-10.
Both teams traded baskets, before junior Thomas Walkup sparked a 9-0 run by the `Jacks with a layup at the 7:16 mark. Walkup and Pinkney each recorded lay-ins and senior Tanner Clayton netted the third 3-pointer of his career (all this season) and a pair of free throws, as SFA held the Islanders scoreless for almost three minutes in taking a 21-12 advantage.
TAMUCC responded with a 7-0 run to make it a two-point game with 2:59 to go, before the `Jacks closed on a 6-2 run to take a 27-21 lead into the lockerroom.
The game remained close early in the second half, as the Islanders again pulled within one possession down 32-29 at the 14:32 mark. However, Cameron recorded five straight points on a layup and dagger from deep to open a 10-0 run for SFA to go up by 13 points. The lead never fell below seven points over the final 9:48 en route to the 61-51 final.
The `Jacks will now turn their attention towards Houston Baptist. SFA will host the Huskies on Saturday, Feb. 7, in a 6 p.m. tip.
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