Stephen F. Austin
13-3, 2-1SLC
Northwestern State
3-12, 0-4SLC
'Jacks Use Second-Half Surge to Down Scrappy Northwestern State, 64-56
1/6/2018 6:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Harris nets 20, helps push 'Jacks to fifth-straight win over Demons in Natchitoches
NATCHITOCHES, La. - No three-pointers? No problem.
For the first time in almost six years, the Stephen F. Austin men's basketball team failed to connect on a three-pointer (0-for-16), but thanks to a 20-point effort from sophomore Kevon Harris and a strong second-half surge the 'Jacks managed to escape Prather Coliseum with a hard-fought 64-56 triumph over Northwestern State Saturday evening.
Junior TJ Holyfield netted all 11 of his points in the final 20 minutes of action while Shannon Bogues added 14 more on 7-of-11 shooting. Eight of that duo's 25 combined markers came through the course of a 12-2 run in the second half that turned a 38-35 Demon edge into a 47-40 lead for the visitors with 12:35 left.
"When you don't make shots it makes it more difficult to create a lot of energy for your team," remarked SFA head coach Kyle Keller who improved to 2-0 against Northwestern State inside Prather Coliseum. "If you make a couple of those threes, the lead goes to eight or 11 or 15 depending on when you hit them.
"Our first half wasn't great, but in the last 20 minutes we were a lot tighter with our defense. We kept Northwestern State from getting to the free throw line and did a far better job at denying their back cuts."
After Northwestern State took 23 free throws in the opening half, the 'Jacks clamped down on defense and limited the Demons to just eight tries from there in the final frame. Although they seemed to live at the line, the Demons showed little interest in making their foul shots, going only 15-of-31 (48.4-percent) from there.
After spending the majority of the opening frame on the bench, Holyfield did most of his work in the final frame by grabbing five of his team-high seven rebounds and blocking a trio of shots.
"TJ is such a centerpiece to what we do and we missed him early," continued Keller. "He's a safety net defensively when we get beat and since we were a step slow on everything his absence loomed large."
SFA owned a 44-29 edge on the glass and finished 20-of-32 (62.5-percent) to help pick up their fifth-straight win over Northwestern State inside Prather Coliseum. By himself, Harris hit eight of his nine tries at the foul line, helping the 'Jacks claim victory in a game that, on paper, shouldn't have been close. Northwestern State entered the game ranked dead last in the Southland in seven of the 21 major statistical categories including scoring offense.
While the 'Jacks used a heavy dose of Harris to keep themselves afloat through the opening 20 minutes, Northwestern State went with a different approach - namely balanced scoring and free throw shooting. The Demons received points from nine players over the course of the opening frame and laid down stakes at the free throw line, going 11-of-23 from that distance through that span.
Harris put in four of the 'Jacks' six points in the first 79 seconds of the game and the visitors' lead managed to stay at four, 8-4, after John Comeaux put in a layup with 18:02 left in the first stanza.
That four-point edge was all the 'Jacks could manage, however, as the sharpness displayed by the visitors through the opening two minutes evaporated rather quickly. Northwestern State made use of a 6-0 run capped by a layup from Izaihiah Sweeney to secure a 10-8 lead with 15:26 to go in the frame. Following that score, the Demons allowed SFA to lead for just 1:25 through the rest of the half.
Try as they might, the 'Jacks struggled mightily to get anything going from the field. Through the final 13:23 of the frame, SFA put in just three field goals and had to keep pace with Northwestern State mainly at the free throw line.
Eight of the 14 points SFA conjured up through that stretch came at the foul line and the 'Jacks used two from Comeaux and one more from Samuli Nieminen as part of a 5-1 run through the last 3:45 of the half to cut the Demons' lead down to 30-29 at the break.
Brandon Hutton extended the hosts' lead to 38-35 with a three-point play only 2:51 into the final frame before SFA's finally sustained some offense. Holyfield put the 'Jacks ahead for good by accepting a pass from Ty Charles and converting a layup with 15:44 left which made matters 39-38 in favor of SFA.
From the 12:28 mark until 7:01 remained, SFA's lead fluctuated between five and eight points before C.J. Jones netted seven points in a row for Northwestern State including a three-pointer that cut the 'Jacks' edge down to 56-53 with 6:27 left.
Out of an SFA timeout, the 'Jacks turned to Holyfield and Harris who scored the next five points and pushed the lead back to eight, 61-53 before the under-four-minute media timeout. Inside two minutes if remained a two-possession game but Bogues iced the win by connecting on a difficult layup with 1:21 left to account for the final margin.
SFA's defense stood strong in the last 6:23, too, allowing the Demons to hit just two field goals. Jones finished with a team-best 17 points for Northwestern State including three of the Demons' five three-pointers. Ishmael Land put in 10 and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.
Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m., SFA hosts one of the two remaining teams in the Southland who haven't suffered a league loss. New Orleans, who claimed the 2016-17 regular season title, comes inside William R. Johnson Coliseum with a 7-8 record that features a perfect 4-0 mark in Southland play.
-SFA-
