Stephen F. Austin
Sam Houston State
NCAA Ticket Punched As SFA Captures SLC Title
3/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Stephen F. Austin 83, Sam Houston State 70
Merrell Center • Katy, Texas
Records: SFA (29-4); SHSU (25-8)
Up Next: NCAA Tournament • TBD
KATY, Texas - For the second-straight year, the country will get to know all about Stephen F. Austin. The Lumberjacks ensured their inclusion in the 2015 NCAA tournament with an 83-70 victory over Sam Houston State at the Merrell Center in the Southland Conference tournament championship game.
The Lumberjacks were paced by SLC Player of the Year Thomas Walkup who finished with 24 points and eight rebounds with five assists. 15 of those points came in the second half as the `Jacks pulled away, solidifying Walkup as the SLC Tournament MVP for the second-straight year.
Walkup was joined on the all-tournament team by Jared Johnson who finished with 17 points and five rebounds, including a pair of big three pointers in the second half. Dallas Cameron added 14 points in the victory with Jacob Parker notching 11 points with seven rebounds.
For the game, SFA shot 48.1 percent from the floor and 34.8 percent from three-point range, connecting on eight of its 23 shots. The Lumberjack defense held Sam Houston State in check as the Bearkats shot just 36.1 percent from the floor and were just 3-of-20 from three-point range (15.0 percent).
Meeting for the fourth time in an SLC title game, and the second time in a week, the `Jacks and Bearkats exchanged leads through the opening minutes of the first half. Tied 13-13 at the 12 minute mark, SFA put together a 6-0 run to take the 19-13 advantage.
A scary injury to Bobby King under the basket seemed to shake the Lumberjacks' offensive attack as SHSU clawed its way back, taking the 25-24 lead off a three pointer with five minutes remaining in the opening half.
However the three seemed to energize the Lumberjacks as SFA closed out the first half on a 13-2 run, led by a three from Floyd and a key layup from Walkup. But the momentum firmly followed the `Jacks into the locker room thanks to a 30-foot bank shot at the buzzer by Clayton, giving SFA the 37-27 halftime lead.
SFA carried that momentum into the second half as Walkup began to take over. Back-to-back layups pushed SFA's lead to 16 at 51-35 with 14:26 to go, a margin that was matched a little over a minute later when Parker hit a three from the corner, giving the `Jacks the 54-38 advantage with 13 minutes remaining.
After mounting a large comeback against A&M-Corpus Christ in the semifinals, Sam Houston State started to whittle away at the Lumberjack lead as well, using a 14-6 run to pull to within eight at 57-49 with just over nine minutes remaining.
But has been their M.O. all season, SFA began to wear down the Bearkats over the final eight minutes, forcing turnovers and hitting key shots. Cameron and Johnson played big roles down the stretch, setting up Walkup's game-clinching breakaway dunk with a minute to go to clinch the Lumberjacks' second-straight NCAA berth.
The victory for SFA was one for the record books tonight as SFA becomes the first team to win back-to-back Southland Conference tournaments since Louisiana-Monroe in1992-93, which was also the last time a player repeated as tournament MVP. The Lumberjacks join the Warhawks as the only teams to win both the regular season and tournament championships in back-to-back seasons as well.
The victory over the Bearkats marks the 11th-straight victory for SFA over their piney woods rivals as Brad Underwood improves to 6-0 all-time against the Bearkats. Underwood upped his career record to 61-7, further establishing his place as the top second year head coach in NCAA Division I history.
Up next for SFA is a return trip to the NCAA tournament, representing the Southland Conference. The `Jacks will learn their fate during the NCAA Selection Show Sunday, getting underway at 5 p.m. on CBS. A watch party will be held at the theater in the Baker Pattillo Student Center for any Lumberjack fans that want to celebrate a return trip to the NCAA tournament.
-SFA-
