Stephen F. Austin
LeTourneau
'Jacks Face Quick Turnaround as Home Bout with LeTourneau Looms Thursday Night
11/16/2017 6:01:00 AM | Men's Basketball
SFA takes aim at first 3-0 start since 2012-13
Stephen F. Austin (2-0) vs. LeTourneau (1-0)
Thursday, Nov. 16 | 7:00 p.m. | William R. Johnson Coliseum (7,203) | Nacogdoches, Texas
Live Stats | Watch (ESPN3) | Listen (Q107.7) | SFA Game Notes
OPENING TIPS
• Less than 24 hours removed from securing their first road victory of the season, the Stephen F. Austin men's basketball team goes gunning for its second one as it welcomes LeTourneau inside the walls of William R. Johnson Coliseum for the first time since 2002. Tip-off is slated to occur at 7:00 p.m.
• Not only is SFA taking aim at a second-straight home victory, it has its sights set on starting the season with three straight victories. The last time SFA pulled that off, the year was 2012-13 and Danny Kaspar was the head coach of SFA. During that campaign, SFA won its first five games on its way to a regular season Southland Conference title and the program's second-ever berth in the NIT.
• While the game will not officially count for LeTourneau as it is an exhibition contest, it's a real game for the 'Jacks who watched the YellowJackets torch fellow Southland Conference member Northwestern State inside Prather Coliseum in Natchitoches last Sunday evening. LeTourneau led nearly wire-to-wire to secure a 15-point exhibition win over the Demons. The result went down as a loss for Northwestern State.
• Through the first two games of the season, no SFA player has impressed more than sophomore Kevon Harris. Hailing from Ellenwood, Ga., all the second-year man has done is post double-doubles in back-to-back games. Harris is the team's leader in scoring (20.5 points per game) and rebounding (11 per game).
• Since the start of 2012-13, SFA has posted an impressive 72-3 record inside William R. Johnson Coliseum, good for an overall winning percentage of .960. Only Kansas possesses a better home-court winning percentage over that same time period.
• The last NCAA Division III adversary to pay a visit to William R. Johnson Coliseum was Centenary who was no match for the 'Jacks. SFA cruised to a 90-59 triumph which represented the highest single-game point total for SFA in the Kyle Keller coaching era.
SCOUTING LeTOURNEAU | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• Head coach of LeTourneau and Wisconsin native Dan Miller has steadily increased the YellowJackets' win total in each season since he arrived prior to the start of the 2014-15 campaign. Last season, LeTourneau posted a record of 22-6 and advanced to the final round of the American Southwest Conference Tournament where they dropped a 104-92 decision to Hardin-Simmons University.
• Although none of them will count toward his final tally in 2017-18, the 32 points that sophomore guard Nate West scored represented a game-high when LeTourneau pasted Northwestern State, 99-84, in an exhibition contest last Sunday in Natchitoches, La. Last season, West was named to the ASC All-Tournament Team after pouring in 70 points through LeTourneau's three games in the tournament.
• Included in that aforementioned group of double-digit scorers is reigning All-ASC First Team east division selection Alec Colhoff. The YellowJackets' leading scorer last season at 16.3 points per game, Colhoff fired in 15 points in the team's season-opening win. Colhoff ranks seventh in the YellowJackets' program history in terms of career three-pointers made.
• LeTourneau finished with a 65-45 edge in rebouding over Austin College in Wednesday night's season-opening win. Leading the way in that department was Christian Seidl who snared a team-best 10 rebounds to go along with three points. In all, six LeTourneau players finished with six or more rebounds in the one-sided victory.
LAST TIME OUT
• Shaking off a sluggish start - as well as 20 turnovers - SFA improved to 2-0 for the first time since the 2013-14 campaign by muscling its way past NCAA Division II adversary St. Edward's inside William R. Johnson Coliseum.
• Four 'Jacks posted double-digits in the points department but once again it was sophomore Kevon Harris who led the way. For the second time in as many games, Harris turned in a double-double as he finished with a team-best 18 points to go along with a game-best 10 rebounds.
• In addition to his Southland Conference-leading second double-double of the 2017-18 campaign, Harris also came up with six of the 'Jacks' 18 steals - a career high for the sophomore. Those six steals were the most by an SFA player since Ivan Canete recorded the same amount in a Southland Conference road win at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi last season.
• Speaking of Canete, the senior enjoyed a far more productive outing than he did in his season opening game. The Lake Worth, Fla., product pumped in 12 points and tied a career high by grabbing six rebounds. Additionally, Canete added three steals to the 'Jacks' total of 18.
• The 18 steals recorded by SFA in the non-conference victory were the most in a single game in the Kyle Keller coaching era and the highest number since the 'Jacks totaled 19 in a Southland Conference road win at Central Arkansas on Jan. 13, 2015.
• Both Shannon Bogues and TJ Holyfield turned in double-digit scoring efforts for the second-straight time in 2017-18. Holyfield racked up 13 points and missed out on his first double-double of the season by just one rebound. Bogues, meanwhile, reset his season high by pumping in 17 points - just one off of Harris' team best.
• A major area of emphasis for SFA in their showdown with the Hilltoppers was pounding the rock inside. The 'Jacks did just that, racking up an impressive 56 points in the paint to finish with a +40 advantage in that particular statistical category over their adversaries from Austin, Texas. It also marked the first time in over two years in which the 'Jacks racked up 50 or more points in the paint in a single game.
• St. Edward's stunned SFA with a quick barrage of three-pointers out of the gates to open up a 9-4 lead in the first 2:30 of the game before SFA settled down. The 'Jacks used runs of 14-3 and 10-0 in the opening frame to keep the hot-shooting Hilltoppers at bay.
• Doing a great job of turning the Hilltoppers' mistakes into points, SFA finished with 34 points off of 26 St. Edward's turnovers. That total represents the highest number of points off of turnovers for SFA since the squad had 35 in a 40-point gutting of Southland Conference and Louisiana rival Northwestern State back on March 3, 2016.
• With his second-straight double-double outing, Harris became the first SFA player to post double-doubles in back-to-back games since TJ Holyfield did so against Central Arkansas (2/25/17) and Northwestern State (3/3/17) last season.
• Both Aaron Augustin and Canete hit a three-pointer late in the second half for SFA to keep SFA's streak of games with a three-pointer alive and well. The last time the 'Jacks did not make a triple in a game game on Feb. 22, 2012 in a Southland Conference road victory at Lamar.
COMING UP NEXT
• The final leg of the 'Jacks' three-game homestand will occur on Saturday afternoon when NCAA Division III adversary Howard Payne pays a visit to William R. Johnson Coliseum for the first time since 2012 for a 4:00 p.m. clash. The 'Jacks have won 10-straight games against Howard Payne and lead the all-time series 52-31.
-SFA-
