Stephen F. Austin
Houston Baptist
SFA Reclaims First With 102-87 Win at HBU
2/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Stephen F. Austin 102, Houston Baptist 87
Sharp Gymnasium • Houston, Texas
Records: SFA (24-4, 14-1 SLC); HBU (11-14, 6-9 SLC)
Up Next: vs. Incarnate Word • Monday, March 2 • WRJ Coliseum • 7 p.m.
HOUSTON - Jacob Parker caught fire in the second half to post a season-high 30 points as Stephen F. Austin outlasted Houston Baptist 102-87 in a Saturday night shootout inside Sharp Gym. The `Jacks improve to 24-4 overall and 14-1 in Southland Conference play with the victory.
With Sam Houston State's 61-59 loss at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, the win also puts SFA in sole possession of first place in the SLC standings heading into the regular season's final week. The Lumberjacks' 14-1 mark is one game better than the Bearkats' 13-2 with SFA currently holding the tiebreaker over Sam Houston thanks to its victory in Huntsville last month.
Parker shot lights out in the final 20 minutes of play, pouring in 26 points on a perfect 9-for-9 shooting, including a 7-for-7 mark from beyond the arc. The senior, who was held without a field goal in the first half, ended the game with 30 points after making four free throws in the opening half. He came one point shy of his career-high of 31 set on Nov. 21, 2013 at Marshall.
Parker's 30-point outburst led five Lumberjacks who scored in double figures on the evening. Thomas Walkup and Jared Johnson each contributed 13 points, Ty Charles posted 12 and Demetrious Floyd added 11 to lead SFA offensively.
The Lumberjacks shot a sizzling 62 percent (31-for-50) from the floor as a unit and made a season-high 16 three-pointers on 23 attempts (69.6 percent) to surge over 100 points. The 102-point effort is the third time the `Jacks have surpassed the century mark this season and second time in a row after Monday night's 103-74 victory over Lamar.
Led by point guard Trey Pinkney, the `Jacks moved the ball efficiently as 26 of 31 made shots were accompanied by an assist. Pinkney dished out a game-high five assists while Walkup, Parker, Charles and Johnson each had four.
Charles led the Lumberjacks with nine rebounds, coming one board shy of a double-double performance.
Both teams shot the ball well in the first half as the `Jacks connected on 50 percent (14-for-28) of their shots from the field, including a 5-for-10 mark from beyond the arc. SFA was effective driving the ball to the rim, drawing 16 fouls and making the Huskies (11-14, 6-9 SLC) pay at the free throw line. The Lumberjacks went 17-for-21 (81 percent) at the charity stripe overall in the period.
The Huskies made the first basket of the game at the 18:50 mark, but after Pinkney dropped in a fast break layup shortly after, wouldn't lead the rest of the night.
Floyd started the game red hot, tallying 11 first half points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting. Johnson, who also reached double digits in the first half with 10, drilled a three-pointer from the corner as time expired in the half to help SFA take a 50-41 cushion into the break.
Led by the hot hand of Parker, SFA started the second half with on a 13-2 run to extend its lead to 20 (63-43) with 16:29 remaining. Parker cashed in on three of his career-high seven made triples over the stretch.
The Lumberjacks fended off small Husky runs the rest of the way and never relinquished a two digit lead.
The Lumberjacks will continue their tough stretch to end the season, which included a span of four games in eight days, when they take to the court inside William R. Johnson Coliseum on Monday night against Incarnate Word at 7:00 p.m. The game marks the first of three home contests on the week, as SFA also hosts Northwestern State on Thursday night at 8:00 p.m. and Sam Houston State on Saturday at 6:00 p.m.
SFA's final two games of the season will be broadcast on ESPN3.
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