Stephen F. Austin
Florida A&M
Sunday Afternoon Showdown Pits SFA against Florida A&M
11/25/2017 1:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball
'Jacks meet Rattlers for first time in program history
Stephen F. Austin (4-1) vs. Florida A&M (1-6)
Sunday, Nov. 26 | 2:00 p.m. | William R. Johnson Coliseum (7,203) | Nacogdoches, Texas
Live Stats | Watch (Facebook Live) | Listen (Q107.7/TuneIn app) | SFA Game Notes | Florida A&M Game Notes
OPENING TIPS
• Following a break of three days, the Stephen F. Austin men's basketball team returns to action Sunday afternoon when it begins a stretch of three straight home games by playing host to first-time opponent Florida A&M inside William R. Johnson Coliseum at 2:00 p.m. Those unable to make the trip to Nacogdoches can follow every second of the action via a live video stream on Facebook Live with the play-by-play and analysis of Rob Meyers who can also be heard over the airwaves on Q107.7 FM in Nacogdoches or via the TuneIn app.
• The 'Jacks enter Sunday afternoon's tilt on the receiving end of one vote in the latest edition of the Associated Press Top 25 poll. Along with Belmont and Rhode Island, SFA is one of three institutions from around the nation who earned a single vote and SFA's appearance in the poll is its first since the week of March 13, 2016.
• Sunday's showdown between the 'Jacks and Rattlers represents the fourth time in which SFA has taken on an NCAA Division I adversary from the Sunshine State. SFA has posted a 1-2 (.333) mark against opponents from Florida having gone 1-1 against Florida International and 0-1 against South Florida.
• Florida A&M is the fourth opponent from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) that SFA has battled with on the basketball court in the history of the program. The 'Jacks are 2-1 against MEAC adversaries with wins over Howard and South Carolina State. SFA's lone setback against a MEAC foe came in Eugene, Ore., on Dec. 21, 2011, when the 'Jacks dropped a 64-57 decision to North Carolina Central.
• With a 20-point performance in Starkville, Miss., against Mississippi State last Wednesday night, junior Shannon Bogues took over as the 'Jacks' leading scorer. Bogues, who has appeared exclusively off of the bench for SFA, is pumping in points at a rate of 19.4 per game which ranks third in the Southland. His field goal percentage of 57.1 is the fourth-best in the 13-team league, too.
• SFA remains atop the national leaderboard in terms of steals per game. The 'Jacks average 14.6 thefts per tilt.
SCOUTING FLORIDA A&M | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• If the Rattlers hope to secure their first triumph over an NCAA Division I opponent Sunday in Nacogdoches, they will likely have to improve on the offensive end. Through its first seven games, Florida A&M is averaging just 59.6 points per game which ranks 342nd out of 351 NCAA Division I teams.
• Seven-footer Isaiah Martin has been a formidable presence down on the block for the Rattlers through their first seven games of the 2017-18 campaign. Martin leads the MEAC with 18 total blocked shots - good for a league-best average of 2.6 per game - and ranks second in the 13-team league in field goal percentage. Martin is connecting on shots at a clip of 64.7-percent and ranks third on the team and 20th in the MEAC in scoring at 11 points per game.
• High-volume shooter and Preseason All-MEAC Third Team choice Marcus Barham leads the Rattlers' offense by putting in points at a rate of 14.7 per game - a figure which is tops on the team and eighth in the MEAC. Nationally, Barham ranks 16th in total field goal attempts (88), 20th in three-point field goal tries (43) and is one of the nation's top free throw shooters boasting an accuray rate of 94.7-percent from that distance. That percentage is the second-best in the MEAC and the 42nd-highest nationally.
• Unafraid to put the miles behind them through their non-conference schedule, Florida A&M will pay a visit to a grand total of 12 states through its 16-game non-MEAC slate. The Rattlers have already made stops in Arizona, Nevada, Mississippi, North Dakota and Wisconsin and will have put an astounding 12,834 miles of road behind them before beginning MEAC play on Jan. 3, 2018.
• The Rattlers are in search of their first victory over a Southland Conference adversary since Dec. 15, 2015. That day, Florida A&M captured a 67-64 victory over Southeastern Louisiana in Tallahassee, Fla.
• Florida A&M head coach Robert McCullum claimed victory over SFA in his first matchup with the 'Jacks during his tenure as the head man at South Florida. McCullum's squad emerged with a narrow 76-75 triumph over the Danny Kaspar-led 'Jacks on Nov. 20, 2004, down in Tampa, Fla.
LAST TIME OUT
• Through the opening 20 minutes of action, the 'Jacks claimed a 40-32 lead over Mississippi State but the Bulldogs bit back by outscoring SFA 48-35 in the final frame to hand the 'Jacks their first loss of the season by an 80-75 margin.
• SFA's fatal flaw was a field goal drought of 10:09 throughout the second half. After shooting 41.7-percent in the opening frame, the 'Jacks connected on just 32.3-percent of their tries in the second half while Mississippi State scorched the nets with a field goal percentage of 66.7-percent in the second half.
• Mississippi State opened up a lead of as many as 16 points in the second half before the 'Jacks attempted a miraculous comeback. Through the last 3:10 of the frame, SFA connected on five three-pointers to trim the Bulldogs' once-comfortable lead to just three points, but Mississippi State converted eight of its 10 free throws in the game's final two minutes to salt away the win and keep the Bulldogs undefeated.
• Coming off the bench once again, junior Shannon Bogues scored 13 of his team-high 20 points in the opening half. Bogues, who hails from Killeen, Texas, took 19 shots in the game - the most by an SFA player this season and the most by a Lumberjack in a game since Thomas Walkup hoisted 18 shots in a Southland Conference Tournament win over Houston Baptist on March 11, 2016.
• Coming into the game ranked 349th out of 351 NCAA Division I men's basketball teams in turnovers per game, the 'Jacks took far better care of the ball by committing a season-low 12 turnovers. It was the fewest turnovers committed by SFA in a game since throwing the ball away just 10 times in a Southland Conferene home setback to Northwestern State on March 2, 2017.
• TJ Holyfield put in 19 points and finished two rebounds shy of a double-double by corralling a team-best eight rebounds. The junior out of Albuquerque, N.M., also rejected a pair of shots and finished a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Holyfield has now made his last 12 straight attempts from the foul line and ranks second in the Southland Conference with a free throw percentage of .895 (17-of-19).
• The 'Jacks finished -17 in terms of free throw attempts throughout the game. Mississippi State converted 26 of its 35 tries from the foul line while the 'Jacks went 16-of-18. Mississippi State's Quinndary Weatherspoon drilled 11 of his 14 tries from that distance to finish with four fewer free throws than SFA did as a team.
• For the first time in 2017-18, senior Leon Gilmore III posted a double-digit scoring effort. The Houston, Texas, product put in 12 points and hit all six of his free throw tries. Of his 16 double-digit scoring outings in an SFA uniform, four of them have come in postseason competition or against adversaries from the power five conferences.
• Sophomore Kevon Harris was held to just two points after scoring at least 14 in each of his first four games of 2017-18. With that, the second-year man dropped to third on the 'Jacks' scoring charts and is now averaging 16.6 points per game.
• Bogues' 20-point outing helped the 'Jacks finish with a 23-6 advantage in bench points over Mississippi State in the loss. Through the first five games of 2017-18, SFA's bench has outscored its opponents bench by a total of 181-89. That works out to a per-game bench scoring advantage of 36.2-17.8 for the 'Jacks.
COMING UP NEXT
For the second time in program history, the 'Jacks will tangle with North Dakota State when the Bison make the trip to Nacogdoches, Texas, for a 7:30 p.m. showdown inside William R. Johnson Coliseum Tuesday night. The only other time the 'Jacks and Bison crossed paths, SFA locked up a 112-111 triple-overtime victory on Dec. 12, 2008, in one of the wildest games in SFA men's basketball history.
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