Stephen F. Austin
10-1
LSU
6-3
Canete's Late Layup Lifts 'Jacks to 83-82 Triumph at LSU
12/16/2017 4:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Senior finishes with game-high 20 in SFA's first win over a current SEC program since 1970
BATON ROUGE, La. - The Stephen F. Austin men's basketball team's penchant for dramatic wins seems to have no end.
Senior Ivan Canete connected on a contested layup with less than five seconds remaining and LSU's go-ahead layup at the buzzer rimmed out to ensure an SFA 83-82 victory over the Tigers Saturday afternoon at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
In all, Canete pumped in last seven SFA points to finish with a game-high 20 during the 'Jacks' first win over a current SEC program in 47 years. With the victory, SFA moved to 10-1 on the year and managed to overcome the losses of Leon Gilmore III and TJ Holyfield who each fouled out during the final 3:41 of the game.
"I thought we played really well offensively," commented SFA head coach Kyle Keller following Saturday's hotly-contested victory which featured some 15 ties. "[LSU head coach] Will Wade made some great adjustments and I thought he made our defense look terrible. I thought they were great offensively and our kids, in the second half, played better defensively and made some plays at the end. I'm not discrediting LSU at all, but I thought we showed some fight and some resolve. My seniors (Ty) Charles, (Leon) Gilmore and (Ivan) Canete made some big plays at different times and that's what we have to have."
Before his eventual game-winning layup, Canete put the 'Jacks ahead by two with his fourth and final three-pointer of the night that made matters 81-79 with 31 seconds to go. That lead, however, was short lived as LSU's Tremont Waters sent the Tiger faithful into hysterics with a long-range answer on the other end that pushed the hosts ahead 82-81 with 15 ticks left.
From there, the 18th and final lead change of the night made a winner of the 'Jacks. For the game, neither team held a marked statistical advantage over the other aside from LSU attempting 14 more free throws (23-of-29) than the 'Jacks (11-of-15) and the Tigers getting 25 points off of turnovers compared to SFA's 12.
One of the biggest hurdles SFA was forced to overcome was the absence of Kevon Harris who missed the entire second half after colliding mid-air with an LSU player while battling for a rebound in the closing minute of the first frame. Without Harris, the 'Jacks banded together and received contributions from up and down the lineup to secure the win.
Aaron Augustin, who assisted on Canete's game-winning basket, finished with 11 points, two rebounds and six assists in 29 minutes while Shannon Bogues contributed 10 markers to SFA's winning effort.
The back-and-forth play began almost immediately after TJ Holyfield secured the jump ball. Both Holyfield and Canete drilled three-pointers early to help push SFA put to a 10-5 lead, but that was the largest advantage the 'Jacks would enjoy in the SEC/Southland fracas.
Led by the speedy and high-scoring Tremont Waters - who finished with 19 points, four rebounds, four steals and six assists - the Tigers used their speed to their advantage in the first frame. LSU hit 63-percent (17-of-27) of its field goal tries in the opening frame and used a 12-4 run over a span of 3:50 to turn a 23-22 deficit into a 36-27 advantage with 5:59 left in the frame.
Needing to get something - anything - going on offense, the 'Jacks turned to Harris.
The man who helmed the 'Jacks' late run in the opening half slung in all 11 of his first-half points through the final 5:43 of the opening frame. The reigning Southland Conference Player of the Week drilled a pair of three-pointers during SFA's 22-12 scoring surge while Ty Charles and Canete each caught a case of the long-range fever and slung in long-range hits of their own.
It was Charles' long-distance connection from the far wing that pushed SFA ahead 48-44 with 33 ticks to go in the first frame. Tremont Waters, however, replied with a deep triple for the Tigers that cut the 'Jacks' edge to 48-47 at the halftime break.
Without Harris to help out in the second half, the 'Jacks fell victim to a 10-2 scoring surge by the Tigers in the first 5:13 of the final frame. Trailing 57-50 with 14:47 to go, the 'Jacks turned up their defensive effort in an attempt to negate the Tigers' speed.
Augustin swished two three-pointers and sophomore Samuli Nieminen scored five-straight points to finish a 15-7 SFA run that knotted matters at 65-65 with 9:28 left. That run, coupled with the fact that the 'Jacks held LSU to only 33.3-percent (8-for-24) shooting in the second half, made the task of chipping away at the Tigers' lead that much easier.
Bogues' layup with 7:54 left in the final 20 minutes of action gave SFA a 70-68 lead - its first edge since the one-point halftime advantage - but also laid the groundwork for six lead changes and five ties before the final horn sounded.
Waters' free throw make upped the Tigers' lead to 75-72 with 5:32 left and that was the biggest lead either squad would claim in the closing minutes. LSU maintained its lead until Canete put in a layup with 1:23 left which set the stage for the dramatic finish.
Aaron Epps finished with a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double for LSU while Skylar Mays chipped in 17 in the loss.
Tuesday night, the 'Jacks hit the floor of Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Mo., for an 8:00 p.m. showdown with Missouri to wrap up a two-game road trip against SEC adversaries. The non-conference bout will be televised on ESPNU.
-SFA-
