Stephen F. Austin
Incarnate Word
Walkup; 'Jacks Surge Past UIW, 83-62
3/2/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Stephen F. Austin 83, Incarnate Word 62
William R. Johnson Coliseum • Nacogdoches, Texas
Records: SFA (25-4, 15-1 SLC); UIW (17-9, 9-7 SLC)
Up Next: vs. Northwestern State • Thursday, March 5 • 8 p.m.
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Paced by Thomas Walkup's third double-double of the season, Stephen F. Austin notched a workmanlike effort against Incarnate Word, defeating the Cardinals 83-62 at William R. Johnson Coliseum. The Lumberjacks improved to 25-4 on the season and 15-1 in Southland Conference play, maintaining the top spot in the conference standings.
Walkup finished the night with 23 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, including five offensive boards. The junior shot 5-of-11 from the floor and was a perfect 12-of-12 from the free throw line, complemented by seven assists, two blocks and three steals in 34 minutes of work.
Jacob Parker, the SLC Player of the Week, was held scoreless through the first 20 minutes, playing just four minutes in the first half. He would respond in the second, finishing with 14 points off 6-of-12 shooting with a pair of three-pointers.
Trey Pinkney and Clide Geffrard each posted eight points in the victory with Pinkney dishing out four assists on the night. Jared Johnson added seven points off the bench for the `Jacks with Dallas Cameron finishing with six.
Both teams had trouble settling into their offensive rhythm early in the first half as Incarnate Word used a 6-0 run midway through the first half to take its only lead of the game at 14-12 with 11:00 remaining in the half. But SFA slowly began to distance itself from the Cardinals over the final 10 minutes, outscoring Incarnate Word 23-11 to build a 10-point halftime lead at 35-25 off a layup from Geffrard in the closing seconds.
The Lumberjacks then asserted their authority early in the second half, outscoring the Cardinals 12-2 over the opening five minutes and pushing their lead to 20 at 47-27. SFA then kept Incarnate Word at arms length through the remainder of the game as the closest the Cardinals were able to claw was to within 12 on a number of occasions, the last of which came at 67-55 with 5:10 to go.
SFA then used a 13-2 run over the next four and a half minutes, building its largest lead of the game at 80-57 before settling in for the 83-62 victory, its 12th-straight at home, improving to 3-0 all-time against Incarnate Word.
With the 21-point victory, the Lumberjacks have now notched a double-digit victory in 22 of their 25 wins on the season and recorded their 11th victory of 20-points or more on the year. It also assured SFA can finish no worse than second in the SLC standings, meaning the Lumberjacks will open up the 2015 Southland Conference tournament on Friday, March 13.
That leaves just two regular season games remaining for SFA, both of which will take place on the hardwood at WRJ Coliseum against two of the Lumberjacks biggest rivals. First up is a showdown with Northwestern State on Thursday, March 5, tipping at 8:00 p.m., as a win over the Demons would guarantee SFA at least a share of the regular season conference. The game against NSU will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
-SFA-
