Stephen F. Austin
Central Arkansas
'Jacks Seek Revenge against Central Arkansas in First of Three Straight Home Games
2/20/2018 6:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball
SFA trails Nicholls by one game for first place in Southland Conference standings
Stephen F. Austin (22-5, 11-3 Southland) vs. Central Arkansas (13-14, 7-7 Southland)
Wednesday, Feb. 21 | 7:00 p.m. | William R. Johnson Coliseum (7,203) | Nacogdoches, Texas
Live Stats | Watch (ESPN3/ESPN app) | Listen (Q107.7/TuneIn) | SFA Game Notes | UCA Game Notes
OPENING TIPS
• Within striking distance of their fifth Southland Conferene regular season title in the last six seasons, the Stephen F. Austin men's basketball team hunkers down inside William R. Johnson Coliseum for the remainder of February and begins a stretch of three consecutive home games Wednesday night by playing host to Central Arkansas.
• ESPN3 and the ESPN app are set to carry the 18th all-time tilt between the 'Jacks and Bears once it commences at 7:00 p.m. On the call will be longtime voice of the Lumberjacks Rob Meyers whose call can also be head on Learfield's Lumberjack Sports Network (Q107.7 FM in Nacgodoches, worldwide via the TuneIn app).
• Winners of four straight games - the second-longest active streak in the Southland Conference, the 'Jacks sit just one game out of first place. SFA trails league-leading Nicholls by one full game and is a half-game back of second place Southeastern Louisiana.
• Dating back to March of 2017, SFA is unbeaten inside William R. Johnson Coliseum - a streak of 15-straight games. Currently, that's the fifth-longest active home winning streak in the nation and since the 2012-13 season William R. Johnson Coliseum has given the 'Jacks the most dominant home court advantage in the nation. SFA is 85-3 (.966) in that building since that year which translates to the best home court winning percentage in the nation during that span.
• Only four regular season games remain for the 'Jacks who clinched a spot in the Southland Conference Tournament for the 13th-straight season. SFA heads into Wednesday night's clash with the Bears in possession of the nation's best steals per game average (10.7) as well as a defense that forces the most turnovers per game (20.85) of any team in the land.
• In addition to the 'Jacks' stifling defense, they also possess one of the most efficient - and dominant - offenses. The 'Jacks' turnover margin of +4.9 is eighth nationally while their scoring margin of +12.7 is 15th in the land. This season, SFA has drilled 49.4-percent of its shots - the nation's 18th-best shooting percentage - which includes a Southland Conference-best three-point field goal percentage of 37.3 (66th nationally).
• Junior TJ Holyfield is one point away from 1,000 in his career. Should he get there tonight, he would be one of only 13 players in program history to score 1,000 or more points and grab 500 or more rebounds.
SCOUTING CENTRAL ARKANSAS | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• Coaches, players and fans from around the Southland Conference - and the nation - are already well acquainted with UCA senior Jordan Howard and his prolific scoring ways. The Chandler, Ariz., product leads the Southland and ranks second nationally with a scoring average of 25.8 points per game. A lethal three-point shoote and UCA's all-time leading scorer, he currently leads the league in 13 statistical categories including three-pointers per game (3.33) and free throw percentage (88.6).
• Headed into Wednesday night's game, the Bears lead the Southland Conference in seven statistical categories including assist-to-turnover ratio (1.29, 52nd nationally), assists per game (17.1, 15th nationally), blocked shots per game (5.4, 13th nationally), three-pointers per game (8.6, 91st nationally), three-pointers made (231, 107th nationally), assists (463, 22nd nationally) and total blocks (147, 16th nationally).
• Almost a third of UCA's points - 30.7-percent to be precise - come off of three-pointers. The Bears have splashed a league-leading 231 triples and true freshman guard DeAndre Jones ranks third in the Southland with a long-range shooting percentage of 43.6-percent (26-of-60). In all, however, it's Howard who takes most of the long range shots as he has made 90 of UCA's 231 three-pointers.
• One of the leading candidates for Southland Conference Freshman of the Year, Hayden Koval has distinguished himself as a polished offensive performer as well as a legitimate defensive threat during his first season in Conway. Koval leads the Southland and ranks fourth in the nation with 3.2 blocked shots per game and also averages 9.2 points and 5.4 rebounds.
• If the season ended today, the Bears would be the final team to make the cut for the 2018 Southland Conference Tournament. Central Arkansas is tied for seventh place in the league standings, one game ahead of ninth-place McNeese. Two of the Bears' final four games are on the road including a pivotal matchup at Abilene Christian who is also tied for seventh.
• So far this season, Central Arkansas has more Southland Conference wins on the road than it does at home. UCA has won three of its last four league road games and is 4-3 on the road in Southland Conference action this season. This comes on the heels of a 2016-17 season in which the Bears won just three road games in all.
LAST TIME OUT
• Returning to the building where they dropped their first - and only - game to Incarnate Word in program history last January, the 'Jacks held the Cardinals in check and earned an 81-70 victory at the McDermott Convocation Center last Saturday afternoon.
• Offensively, most of the 'Jacks' damage was done by the trio of Shannon Bogues, Leon Gilmore III and Kevon Harris who racked up 63 of SFA's 81 points. That worked out to 77.8-percent of SFA's offense for the evening.
• Leon Gilmore III enjoyed the finest game of his collegiate career as he submitted his his fourth double-double in an SFA uniform and his third of the season. The Houston, Texas, product tied his career high by putting in 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting and added a career-best 13 rebounds. Those 13 rebounds also represented an SFA season high and were the most by an SFA player in a game since March 2, 2017, when TJ Holyfield grabbed 16 against Northwestern State.
• At the foul line, Gilmore III hit all eight of his attempts. That ties a career high for the Houston, Texas, product.
• For the eighth time in 2017-18, sophomore Kevon Harris turned in a 20+ point scoring effort. The Ellenwood, Ga., product finished tied with Gilmore III for team-high scoring honors by dropping in 22 points and Harris' eight games of 20 or more points are now one more than the seven SFA registered as a team in 2016-17.
• Shannon Bogues finished with 19 points and drilled a game-high five three-pointers. It marked Bogues' fifth-straight game of 10 or more points and he and Harris combined to go 9-of-16 (.563) from downtown in the 'Jacks' double-digit victory.
• Things went exceptionally well for the 'Jacks through the first 20 minutes of action. At the break, SFA held a 19-point edge over the Cardinals and had limited Incarnate Word to just 20 points - the lowest first-half point total by an SFA opponent this season. In the first half, Incarnate Word hit just four field goals - the same number as SFA sophomore Kevon Harris did.
• By hitting four three pointers and netting those 22 points, Harris overtook Bogues as the 'Jacks' scoring leader. Harris is averaging 16.2 points per game - just a shade higher than Bogues' scoring average of 16.1. Additionally, the sophomore retained his standing as the top three-point shooter in the Southland Conference having hit 47.2-percent (50-of-106) of his long distance tries this season. He's one of just two Southland players who are shooting 45-percent or better from three-point range.
• Together, Bogues and Harris give SFA two of the top-ten scorers in the Southland Conference. It makes the 'Jacks one of only two teams in the 13-team league who have two players among the league's top ten scorers.
• Over his last five games, Bogues has provided the 'Jacks with some otherworldly offensive numbers. The junior is averaging 23.2 points per game in that span while shooting 63.3-percent (38-of-60) from the field and an astounding 66.7-percent (20-of-30) from three-point range. In that same span, Harris has put in 16.5 points per game while shooting 55-percent (11-of-20) from long distance.
• Together, Bogues and Harris have combined to produce 31 of SFA's 49 three-pointers through the team's last five games and are shooting a combined 31-of-50 (62-percent) from long distance.
• The 'Jacks' win in San Antonio was the teams 63rd true road win since the 2011-12 season. The only NCAA Division I men's basketball team with more true road triumphs in that span is Wichita State who has won 65 true road games through that same time period.
• With the win, SFA maintained its status as the nation's most dominant team in conference play since 2012-13. Since that season the 'Jacks have gone 92-12 in Southland Conference play, good for a nation-leading win percentage of .885 in that span. The only team in the land that is close to having the same in-confernece winning percentage as SFA in that span is Wichita State who has gone 91-13 (.875) in league games since 2012-13.
• Below is a full breakdown of where Stephen F. Austin's points came from in its road win at Incarnate Word:
Two-pointers | 37.0% (30-81)
Three-pointers | 33.3% (27-81)
Free throws | 29.6% (24-81)
Points in the paint | 32.1% (26-81)
Points off turnovers | 25.9% (21-81)
Second chance points | 16.0% (13-81)
Fast break points | 2.4% (2-81)
Starters points | 72.8% (59-81)
Bench Points | 27.2% (22-81)
29 & 30 TO 1,000
• Exactly 28 Stephen F. Austin men's basketball players have netted at least 1,000 points in their careers and with just a few more buckets senior Ty Charles and junior TJ Holyfield will be joining that club as well.
• Charles needs 24 more points to make it to 1,000 while Holyfield requires one more to arrive at that benchmark. By getting there, the duo will also enter a highly exclusive club of players who have accumulated 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in their careers.
• Currently that group has only 12 members in it including the likes of Thomas Walkup, Jacob Parker, Pete Harris and George Johnson.
FOLLOW THE LEADERS
• SFA leads the Southland Conference in nine separate statistical categories including field goal percentage (49.5-percent), free throws made (457), scoring margin (+12.7), steals per game (10.7), three-point field goal percentage (37.7-percent), total steals (289), turnover margin (+4.9), turnovers forced per game (20.85) and win percentage (81.5).
• TJ Holyfield ranks third in the Southland in field goal percentage (55.7-percent) while Aaron Augustin is second in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2).
STEAL THE SHOW
• With 125 steals in his career, senior Ty Charles has moved up to seventh in program history.
YOU'RE A WINNER
• Only 10 NCAA Division I men's basketball teams in the nation have more wins than the 'Jacks at this point.
• SFA's 22 wins are at least four more than any other Southland Conference team so far this season.
• With three more, the 'Jacks would reach the 25-win mark for the fifth time in the last six seasons and would also give senior Ty Charles exactly 100 wins in his SFA career.
POMEROY'S POINTS
• Noted basketball analytics guru Ken Pomeroy is known far and wide as one of the foremost authorities of NCAA Division I men's basketball and when taking a look at his numbers it's abundantly clear that the 'Jacks possess one of the finest defenses in the nation.
• The 'Jacks' turnover percentage - or the percentage of opponent possessions which result in a turnover - sits at a nation-leading mark of 26.9. The team's steal percentage - or the percentage of opponent possessions which end with a steal by SFA - stands at 13.2. That's second only to Fordham in all of NCAA Division I men's basketball.
• SFA's defensive efficiency rating of 102.7 ranks 109th nationally and the 'Jacks get 38.7-percent of their minutes from their bench - the 33rd-most nationally.
• Opponents of SFA, however, are getting 26.5-percent of their points from free throws. That's the highest percentage in all of NCAA Division I men's basketball.
• The 'Jacks' tempo is ranked as the 24th-fastest in the nation according to Pomeroy. Wednesday night, the 'Jacks meet up with a Central Arkansas squad which ranks 10th nationally in terms of adjusted tempo.
• In a second-straight rematch with a team that has handed them a Southland Conference setback this season, the 'Jacks welcome Lamar to William R. Johnson Coliseum Saturday night. Tip-off between the Lumberjacks and Cardinals is set for 6:00 p.m. and the game will be presented by Nacogdoches Memorial Health.
-SFA-
