Stephen F. Austin
5-2
Milwaukee
2-6
Harris Helps 'Jacks End Run in BHOF Belfast Classic with 66-51 Win over Milwaukee
12/1/2018 10:22:00 AM | Men's Basketball
SFA holds Panthers to season-low scoring output in fifth win
Postgame Press Conference
BELFAST, Northern Ireland - Turning in arguably its finest defensive performance of the season, the SFA men's basketball team forced 15 turnovers and limited Milwaukee to its lowest scoring output of the season in a 66-51 triumph over the Panthers Satuday in the 'Jacks' final game of the 2018 Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic.
Kevon Harris turned in a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double to lead the way for the 'Jacks who posted the program's first victory on international soil. Shannon Bogues netted 11 and freshman guard came off the bench to knock down four second-half three-pointers to help lift SFA to its 1,500th victory in program history.
FIRST HALF
• Defense was the order of the first 20 minutes for the 'Jacks in SSE Arena as SFA offset a .333/.308/.625 shooting split in the frame by forcing 13 Milwaukee turnovers.
• One of only two leads the Panthers enjoyed in the opening frame came when Bobby Arthur-Williams started the game with a layup. Following that Aaron Augustin laced his first three-pointer of the season to start a 6-0 run that put the 'Jacks ahead 6-2 with 16:29 to go in the frame.
• Milwaukee managed to knot matters at six each, but an 11-2 SFA run spanning 4:17 helped the 'Jacks open up a 17-8 edge with 10:26 remaining in the stanza. Nathan Bain drilled a pair of three-pointers during that stretch and the 'Jacks' defense held the Panthers without a field goal for a span of 4:28.
• Not wanting to go down easily, the Panthers answered with a 15-3 surge culminating with a go-ahead three-pointer off the mitts of Jake Wright with 4:25 left. That triple gave the Panthers their first lead since 2-0 and Milwaukee's lead grew to four, 25-21, following Darius Roy's jumper with 2:29 to go.
• The duo of Harris and Karl Nicholas pushed the 'Jacks back in front for good from there. Nicholas answered Roy's jumper with a three-point play before Harris closed out the half on a personal 5-0 run. Harris' last field goal of the frame was a step-back three-pointer that helped the 'Jacks take a 29-25 lead into the locker room.
• SFA ended the half on an 8-0 run and the duo of Bain and Harris were responsible for 16 of the 'Jacks' 29 first-half points.
SECOND HALF
• Milwaukee's scoreless stretch from the late stages of the opening frame lasted well into the final 20 minutes of action. Held without a point for the first 4:04 of the second stanza, the Panthers could not put up a single point against the 'Jacks' defense for a 6:34 span between the two halves.
• SFA did not suffer from the same kinds of difficulties on offense, though, as Harris started a 7-0 run for the 'Jacks to begin the frame with a three-point play of his own. Mitchell Seraille capped the surge with a layup that made matters 36-25 with 16:11 remaining.
• Consecutive triples by Bain and Jock Hughes helped the 'Jacks' lead swell to 17 (44-27) with 13:40 to go. Milwaukee finally ended a run of 9:13 without a field goal when Wil Sessoms converted a three-point play with 13:14 left in the game.
• The 'Jacks' lead never dipped below 10 one time through the remainder of the tilt and SFA cruised to victory.
KEY PERFORMERS/STATISTICS OF NOTE
• In addition to his game-high 15 points, Harris snared a game-best 10 rebound to put the wraps on his first double-double of the season. It's also the first double-double by any SFA player so far in 2018-19.
• All of Hughes' season-best 12 points came in the second half of play and helped the 'Jacks outscore the Panthers 37-26 through the final 20 minutes of action.
• The three-point shooting strokes of Nathan Bain and Jock Hughes were on full display Saturday in Belfast. That pair shot a combined 7-of-8 from long range with each resetting their career-bests in triples made. Those two helped the 'Jacks finish 10-of-26 from downtown.
• The 'Jacks received a big contribution from its bench as a whole. SFA's reserves finished with 24 points and SFA turned 15 Milwaukee turnovers into 19 points as well.
• No Milwaukee player finished with more than nine points. Sessoms, Carson Warren-Newsom and Wright each finished with nine for the Panthers who finished 0-2 in the BHOF Belfast Classic.
• Thanks to a splendid defensive effort, the 'Jacks held Milwaukee to a shooting split of .328/.148/.500 for the game.
• SFA is now 1-2 all-time against opponent from the Horizon League and 1-1 all-time against NCAA Division I foes from the state of Wisconsin.
COMING UP NEXT
• Upon returning to the United States of America on Sunday, the 'Jacks will have just under a week until their next tilt. Friday night at 6:30 p.m., SFA hosts Louisiana Tech inside William R. Johnson Coliseum. It's the Bulldogs' first visit to Nacogdoches, Texas, since 1999 and the game will be streamed nationwide on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.
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