Stephen F. Austin
Northwestern State
SFA Powers Past Demons into SLC Championship
3/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Final Stats • 
Photo Gallery
Stephen F. Austin 91, Northwestern State 79
Merrell Center • Katy, Texas
Records: SFA (28-4); NSU (19-12)
Up Next: vs. Sam Houston State • SLC Championship • Saturday, Mar. 14 • 8:30 p.m. • ESPN2
KATY, Texas - Led by a balanced offensive attack which saw five Lumberjacks finish in double figures, Stephen F. Austin pulled away from rival Northwestern State in the second half to notch the 91-79 victory in the Southland Conference semifinals.
The victory propels the `Jacks into their third-straight conference tournament championship game, tipping off Saturday at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN2 against rival Sam Houston State. It will be the seventh title game appearance for SFA since 2003 as the `Jacks are 2-4 all-time in the SLC tournament's championship game.
SFA shot 52.6 percent from the floor in the game, including hitting nearly 54 percent of its shots in the first half. The `Jacks also converted 47.1 percent from three-point range, hitting eight of their 17 shots, while knocking down 23 of their 26 free throws (88.5 percent) to help seal the victory.
Ty Charles led the way for the Lumberjacks with 16 points on the night, including 13 in the first half. Jacob Parker tallied his third double-double of the season, finishing with 15 points and 10 rebounds despite playing just four minutes in the first half, with Jared Johnson providing a spark off the bench, knocking down four of his eight three point attempts to finish with 16 points.
Thomas Walkup added 13 points and seven assists on the night with Clide Geffrard finishing with 10 points off the bench. Charles posted seven rebounds on the night for the `Jacks, including three offensive, with Tanner Clayton knocking down four key shots in the second half.
Meeting for the third time this season, SFA and Northwestern State looked like a pair of teams that were very familiar with each other in the early going. After three ties and four lead changes in the first half, the Lumberjacks slowly began to pull away over the final 10 minutes of the stanza.
Paced by 13 first half points by Charles, SFA build leads of seven, 10 and 10, only to have the Demons pull their way back in. The `Jacks built a seven point lead in the waning seconds of the opening half, only to see Jalan West hit a long three pointer to cut the halftime deficit to four at 45-41.
SFA began to distance itself in the second half behind some key baskets from a handful of contributors. A three-pointer by Johnson with 11:46 remaining pushed the `Jacks' lead to 10 at 67-57, which was then pushed to 14 at 71-57 off a long jumper from Clayton and a pair of free throws from Parker.
Leading 77-62 off a tip-in from Clayton, Northwestern State mounted a comeback, trimming the deficit to eight at 77-69 with 5:41 to play. But a key sequence of a long jumper from Clayton, followed by a block at the other end led to a transition three from Parker, putting the `Jacks back on top by 13 with 4:53 to go.
The Demons had one final spark left, pulling to within seven at 86-79 with 1:54 to go. But a three-pointer from the far corner by Johnson proved to be the dagger as Parker iced it with a pair of clutch free throws, propelling the `Jacks into the finals.
The victory seals the season sweep for SFA over the rival Demons as the Lumberjacks have now won six-straight over their border rivals dating back to the 2013 SLC tournament championship game.
The Lumberjacks will face rival Sam Houston State, who rallied in the second half to slip past A&M-Corpus Christi 70-67 in the second semifinal Friday night. The two teams tangle on ESPN2 tomorrow night with the winner earning the conference's automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA tournament.
-SFA-
