Stephen F. Austin
Southwestern Assemblies of God
SFA Hosts Southwestern Assemblies of God for First Time in Program History Thursday Night
11/7/2018 6:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball
'Jacks going for second-straight 2-0 start
Game Two
SFA (1-0) vs. Southwestern Assemblies of God (3-0)
Thursday, Nov. 8 | 6:30 p.m. | William R. Johnson Coliseum (7,203) | Nacogdoches, Texas
Live Stats | Watch (ESPN3/ESPN app) | Listen (Q107.7/TuneIn) | SFA Game Notes
Play-by-play/analysis | Rob Meyers
THE STARTING FIVE
• For the first time since 2014-15, the SFA men's basketball team will wrap up a two-game home stand to begin a season Thursday night when the 'Jacks host their second straight nationally-ranked NAIA adversary. At 6:30 p.m., SFA welcomes Southwestern Assemblies of God to William R. Johnson Coliseum for the first matchup between the Lions in program history.
• ESPN3 and the ESPN app will carry each and every minute of the action between the 'Jacks and Lions with longtime SFA play-by-play man Rob Meyers narrating the action from his courtside seat. Fans not able to tune in via ESPN3 can listen to the broadcast on Q107.7 in Nacogdoches or via the TuneIn app anywhere on the planet.
• Though the sample size is quite small, SFA currently leads the Southland Conference in rebounding defense. The 'Jacks gave up just 21 boards to visiting Texas Wesleyan in their season opener Tuesday night and are tied for the league lead with Abilene Christian.
• Senior guard Shannon Bogues was one of five Southland Conference players who posted 20 or more points on the season's opening night. He netted 21 - the third-most on opening night in the 13-team league. Only Southeastern Louisiana's Parker Edwards (25) and Nicholls' Jeremiah Jefferson (28) scored more.
• Bogues' six assists in the 'Jacks' opener were the most by any Southland Conference player in the opening games around the league Tuesday night, too.
• Two of the league's top three minute getters on opening night also wore SFA uniforms. Bogues' 36 minutes of action were the second-most in the league Tuesday night while Kevon Harris logged 34 minutes - the third-most of all Southland Conference players.
LAST TIME OUT
• Making their first appearance inside William R. Johnson Coliseum since Feb. 28, 2018 - a span of 250 days - the 'Jacks won their season opener for the second-straight season and the second time in head coach Kyle Keller's tenure by overcoming a five-point second half deficit to claim an 83-71 victory over NAIA adversary Texas Wesleyan.
• Facing off against the Rams - who currently rank 11th in the latest NAIA National Poll - for the first time since 2008, SFA shot 50.8-percent (30-of-59) from the field and finished with only 10 turnovers to improve to 57-37 (.606) all-time in season openers. When opening a season at home, SFA is now 45-10 (.818) in program history.
• Playing without the services of their two primary point guards from last season (Aaron Augustin and John Comeaux), SFA turned to senior Shannon Bogues to recast himself as a distributor while also playing the role of a big-time scoring threat. Bogues dished out a team and career-best six assists but did not let the distribution phase of his game hinder the scoring aspect.
• Bogues fired in a game-high 21 points and drilled four of his six tries from three-point land. It marked the eighth time in his SFA career in which Bogues has accumulated at least 20 points in a game and the 12th time he has finished a game as the 'Jacks' leading scorer since he stepped foot in Nacogdoches.
• In all, five 'Jacks finished with 10 or more points in the come-from-behind victory. It marked the first time since Feb. 21, 2018, that five SFA players posted 10 or more markers and in Keller's tenure as head coach the 'Jacks have gone 8-1 when five or more players hit double-digit points.
• For the tenth time in Keller's tenure as head coach, the 'Jacks posted a win despite trailing at the half. SFA is 10-17 (.370) when down at the break.
• SFA's 83 points represented the program's highest point total in a season opener since 2013-14. That year, the 'Jacks' bested in-state adversary UT-Tyler by an 84-30 tally inside William R. Johnson Coliseum on Nov. 8 to start the season.
• A grand total of seven players made their Lumberjack debuts in Tuesday night's season opener. Foremost on that list was graduate student Davonte Fitzgerald who received the start and finished with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting. The Atlanta, Ga., product also added five rebounds in just 17 minutes of action and across the NCAA Division I men's basketball landscape this season he's one of 18 different players who have played at three institutions throughout their collegiate careers.
• In his collegiate debut, freshman forward Mitchell Seraille finished with seven points and a team-high six rebounds in 20 minutes of action off of the bench. Seraille became the first freshman to lead the 'Jacks in rebounding in a game since Kevon Harris did so on Feb. 2, 2017. That night, Harris snared four rebounds in a 72-63 setback at Southland Conference foe Sam Houston State.
• Perhaps the most unexpected individual to suit up for Tuesday night's opener was sophomore forward Karl Nicholas. At approximately 5:00 p.m. - roughly 90 minutes before tip-off - the Pearland, Texas, product learned that he had been cleared to play after the NCAA granted the 'Jacks an emergency waiver that negated the rule stating Nicholas would have to sit out one full year after transferring from another NCAA Division I institution.
• Nicholas responded well to the news, getting 11 minutes of work in off of the bench and finishing with 10 points and a trio of rebounds in his first appearance in a Lumberjack uniform.
• Fitzgerald, Nicholas and Seraille were the only players among the seven who got their first action in a Lumberjack uniform to score points. Oddyst Walker (14 minutes), Jock Hughes (two monutes, Aaron Walton (two minutes) and Rance Cole (one minute) each hit the floor for SFA for the first time.
• SFA started out fast, beginning the game on a 10-3 run capped by a powerful two-handed slam off the mitts of Seraille. The rim-rocker was the first field goal make in Seraille's career.
• Texas Wesleyan connected on 12 three-pointers and shot 52.2-percent from that distance through the game to keep things interesting throughout. SFA, however, forced 21 turnovers and netted 21 points off of those throwaways to ward off the Rams' long distance attack.
• Owning the painted area was another area that helped SFA shake off Texas Wesleyan's upset bid. For the game, SFA posted a 40-18 edge in points in the paint and finished with a +22 edge in that category. That's the 'Jacks' biggest points in the paint margin since finishing +28 (46-18) in a 97-62 Southland Conference victory over Central Arkansas on Feb. 21, 2018.
• Junior Nathan Bain got the start and shot a game-best .714 (5-of-7 from the field) to finish with 10 points. Those 10 points were a career-high for the Freeport, Bahamas, product who was making just the second start of his career.
• Junior Kevon Harris added five assists and 10 points of his own for SFA in 34 minutes of action. Between Bogues and Harris, 11 of the 'Jacks' 18 assists were represented and only 12 of SFA's 30 field goals were unassisted in the season-opening victory.
• SFA's well-documented home court dominance since 2011-12 continued at least through the first game of 2018-19 with the win. Since then, the 'Jacks have gone 88-4 (.957) inside William R. Johnson Coliseum to lead the nation in home court winning percentage through that span.
• Below is a full breakdown of where SFA's points came from in its 2018-19 season-opening victory over Texas Wesleyan:
Two-pointers | 53.0% (44-83)
Three-pointers | 28.9% (24-83)
Free throws | 18.1% (15-83)
Points in the paint | 48.2% (40-83)
Points off turnovers | 25.3% (21-83)
Second chance points | 22.9% (19-83)
Fast break points | 20.4% (17-83)
Starters points | 71.2% (47-83)
Bench Points | 28.9% (24-83)
SCOUTING SOUTHWESTERN ASSEMBLIES OF GOD | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• Ranked 18th in the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball preseason poll, the Lions have won each of their three games by an average of 34 points. Though this game will go down as an exhibition result in the Lions' final ledger, they'll still head into battle with five players averaging at least 10 points per game.
• Leading the way in the scoring category is Joshua Kashila who is shooting .553/.500/1.000 en route to an average of 19 points per game through the first three tilts.
• Nykolas Mason (16.0 ppg), Adrian Palacios (11.7 ppg), Cameron Hill (10.3 ppg) and Mechiah Zilkoski (10.0 ppg) round out the Lions' top five scorers.
• Finding the Lions' scorers has been the job of Dareny Sims and so far this season he has been more than up to the challenge. Sims leads the team with 17 assists which works out to a per-game average of 5.7.
• A strong defensive team, too, the Lions are allowing their opponent to shoot just 33.8-percent from the field and a 27.1-percent clip from three-point land.
COMING UP NEXT
• For their first road trip of the year, the 'Jacks head to the site of the program's first NCAA Tournament appearances in order to take on an ACC foe for the first time since 2016. Tuesday evening on ESPNU, SFA tangles with rv/rv Miami inside the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Fla. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. with Anish Shroff and Cory Alexander on the call.
