Stephen F. Austin
15-3, 4-1SLC
Incarnate Word
5-10 0-5SLC
Harris' Third Double-Double Helps 'Jacks Hammer Incarnate Word, 83-63
1/13/2018 9:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Four 'Jacks finish with 10 or more points as SFA moves a half-game back of the Southland Conference lead
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Outside of the first meeting between Stephen F. Austin and Incarnate Word, the Cardinals have never posed much of a threat to the 'Jacks inside William R. Johnson Coliseum.
That trend continued Saturday night.
Exhibiting a balance and ferocity that greatly surpassed anything Incarnate Word had in its corner, SFA blasted the Cardinals 83-63 to post its most lopsided Southland Conference triumph of the season.
Led by Kevon Harris' 19-point, 10-rebound double-double, 17 points off the bench from Shannon Bogues and 16 more off the mitts of Leon Gilmore III SFA hiked its home winning streak to 12 games and moved a half-game behind both New Orleans and Nicholls for first-place in the Southland Conference standings.
"Going into the game, you don't really know how people are going to guard you and tonight - I hate to say it - Kevon was kind of a decoy for a lot of our guys," commented SFA head coach Kyle Keller. "They [Incarnate Word] threw everything they had at hime and as a result he had to work for all of his points and all of his rebounds, but his play opened things up for everyone else. It was good to see Leon be aggressive and physical, too."
Harris' third double-double of the 2017-18 campaign came at the expense of an Incarnate Word team that gave up 48 points in the paint and slid to 5-10 and 0-5 in league play. TJ Holyfield also added 10 points in SFA's second-straight win over the Cardinals which pushed the 'Jacks' home record to 11-0 this season.
The opening minutes were, to put it mildly, shaky for the hosts as they watched Jorden Kite splash a pair of three-pointers during the Cardinals' 8-0 run through the first 2:28 of the contest. Fortunately for SFA, Incarnate Word's porous interior defense made it remarkably easy for the 'Jacks to mount a quick comeback.
In all, 32 of SFA's 42 first-half points - or 76.2-percent - came in the painted are through the initial 20 minutes of action. As a matter of fact, each and every one of the 'Jacks' points during a 16-8 surge that knotted matters at 16-all came via shots no more than three feet from the basket.
Finally, after a pair of free throw makes by Bogues with 10:02 to go, the 'Jacks secured their first lead of the game. Once those hits at the stripe pushed SFA's lead to 19-18, the hosts never trailed again.
Samuli Nieminen - who finished with four rebounds and five points in 15 productive minutes off of the bench - splashed the 'Jacks' lone three-pointer of the opening frame and a three-point play by Holyfield with 2:24 to go in the half extended SFA's lead to double-digits, 38-27, for the first time. After hitting their first five shots of the game, the Cardinals cooled off substantially and went only 7-of-20 (35-percent) from the field through the remainder of the half.
There was a brief span in in the final 20 minutes where the Cardinals appeared to be on the comeback trial as Shawn Johnson split a pair of free throws that cut the 'Jacks' lead to 44-37 with 14:44 left but Bogues quickly put a stop to that.
Ty Charles found the junior open for a jumper and Bogues continued to sizzle by hitting a long three-pointer and tossing down a fast-break dunk to cap a personal 7-0 run which pushed SFA's lead back to 14, 51-37, with 13:45 to go.
Never again did the 'Jacks substantial edge dip below 11 points and Gilmore III ended a 6-2 run by the Cardinals by netting seven-straight points of his own late in the second half. The Houston, Texas, product hit a reverse layup on a fast break before taking to the sky for a big-time dunk. His individual 7-0 surge was capped with his second three-pointer of the night, a long-range splash which hiked the 'Jacks' edge to 75-57 with 3:30 to go.
Johnson netted 11 points for Incarnate Word while Cody Graham and Charles Brown III added 10 markers apiece.
The only game the 'Jacks have next week is on the road in Abilene, Texas, against Abilene Christian University. Moody Coliseum will likely be amped up once the tilt begins at 6:00 p.m. Wednesday night as the Wildcats earned their first victory over SFA in over 20 years last season and currently sit just a half-game behind the 'Jacks in the Southland Conference standings.
-SFA-
