'Jacks Meet Up with McNeese Thursday Night in Lake Charles

Thursday, February 8

Lake Charles, La.

6:30 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

McNeese

'Jacks Meet Up with McNeese Thursday Night in Lake Charles

2/7/2018 4:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball

SFA sits in fifth place in Southland standings, trails league-leading Nicholls by just one game

By: Charlie Hurley | Director of Athletic Media Relations

OPENING TIPS
• Sitting just one game out of first place in the Southland Conference, the Stephen F. Austin men's basketball team heads across state lines to Lake Charles, La., for a Thursday evening showdown with McNeese inside Burton Coliseum. Tip-off has been slated for 6:30 p.m. with the contest set to be televised on Eleven Sports Network.
• The tandem of Dan Gresham (PxP) and Lemont Williams (analysis) will have the call of the 83rd meeting between the 'Jacks and Cowboys and fans in both Nacogdoches, Texas, and Lake Charles, La., can catch every second of the action by tuning into channel 455 (Suddenlink). Additionally, the game can be seen on DirecTV (623), AT&T U-verse (1665), Verizon FiOS (597), COX Sports Television in Lake Charles (Suddenlink 42 or 57) and online at SouthlandDigitalNetwork.com.
• Fans in search of an SFA-centric broadcast can tune to Q107.7 FM in Nacgodoches or download the TuneIn app to hear Rob Meyers' call of the game on the Lumberjack Sports Network.
• Over the last 20 meetings between the 'Jacks and Cowboys, SFA has gone 15-5 to give it a 44-38 edge in the all-time series which started in 1951. Each of the 'Jacks' five setbacks in the last 20 showdowns, however, have come in Lake Charles, La., at Burton Coliseum including last season's 69-54 loss which snapped SFA's 26-game winning streak in Southland Conference games.
• Although they shot only 36.7-percent from the field in their most recent outing, the 'Jacks still possess one of the nation's most accurate touches from the field. SFA leads the Southland Conference and ranks 24th among all NCAA Division I men's basketball teams with a field goal percentage of .488.
• Over his last five outings, senior Ty Charles has emerged as one of the 'Jacks most consistent offensive weapons. The Kennedale, Texas, product is averaging 14.8 points as well as a team-leading 6.2 rebounds over SFA's last five tilts. Through that span, Charles' field goal percentage of .592 leads the team as do his 10 makes from three-point land where he's shooting 47.6-percent since Jan. 17.
• Sophomore Kevon Harris, the 'Jacks' leading scorer at 16.1 points per game, has been sidelined for the last two full games. In his absence, Shannon Bogues has taken his place in SFA's starting lineup.

SFA vs. McNEESE | INSIDE THE SERIES
Games | 82
All-Time Series | SFA leads 44-38 (.537)
In Nacogdoches, Texas | 26-12 (.684)
At William R. Johnson Coliseum | 17-9 (.654)
In Lake Charles, La. | 17-26 (.395)
At Burton Coliseum | 8-16 (.333)
Last Win | at SFA 86, McNeese 57 (1/2/16)
Last Home Win | at SFA 86, McNeese 57 (1/2/16)
Last Road Win | at McNeese 75, SFA 80 (1/3/15)
Last Loss | at McNeese 69, SFA 54 (1/2/17)
Last Home Loss | at SFA 49, McNeese 65 (2/9/02)
Last Road Loss | at McNeese 69, SFA 54 (1/2/17)
Largest Margin of Victory | 33, at SFA 99, McNeese 66 (12/8/69)
Largest Margin of Defeat | 34, at SFA 45, McNeese 79 (2/3/90)
Current Streak | McNeese won one
SFA Points (Avg.) | 5,576 (68.0)
McNeese Points (Avg.) | 5,363 (65.4)
Keller vs. McNeese | 0-1 (.000)
At William R. Johnson Coliseum | 0-0 (.000)
At Burton Coliseum | 0-1 (.000)
Keller vs. Simmons | 0-1 (1.000)
Simmons vs. SFA | 3-11 (.214)

SCOUTING McNEESE | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• Coming off a 34-point outing in the Cowboys' 75-62 victory over Northwestern State last Saturday afternoon, sophomore Kalob Ledoux furthered his reputation as one of the best scorers in the Southland Conference. Ledoux ranks third in the league in scoring at 15.6 points per game and also possesses the fourth-highest three-point field goal percentage in the league (41.1-percent). The sophomore averages 2.7 three-pointers per game (third in the Southland) and was 7-of-8 from long distance last Saturday against the Demons.
• In his first season with the Cowboys, Quatarrius Wilson has turned into the best rebounder in the Southland Conference and one of the best in the nation, too. The junior out of Mobile, Ala., leads the 13-team league and ranks 19th nationally by pulling down 9.9 rebounds per game. Unsurprisingly, Wilson leads the Southland in both offensive rebounds (3.4/game) and defensive rebounds (6.5/game) and is averaging almost a double-double with his scoring average of 10.5 ppg.
• McNeese plays some of the toughest defense in the Southland Conference when it comes to opponent field goal percentage. The Cowboys rank second in the league by allowing foes to shoot only 33.3-percent from three-point range while their field goal percentage defense of .428 ranks as the third-best in the league. McNeese has given up a league-low 143 three-pointers to its opposition in 2017-18.
• Most of the damage the Cowboys do on offense comes from their starting five. McNeese's bench has racked up just 349 of the team's 1,481 total points - or 23.6-percent - leaving the starting five left to do the remaining 76.4-percent of the team's scoring.
• There are two things the Cowboys do not do a lot - turn the ball over and foul players on opposing teams. McNeese's 275 turnovers and 353 personal fouls are the fewest among all Southland Conference teams and that personal foul total is the 12th-lowest among all NCAA Division I men's basketball teams. McNeese opponents convert just 13.9 free throws per game as a result.
• McNeese head coach Dave Simmons heads into Thursday's game on a quest to coach the Cowboys to back-to-back wins over SFA for the first time since 2002. Simmons is 3-11 (.214) in his coaching career against the 'Jacks with all of those wins coming in Lake Charles, La.

LAST TIME OUT
• A poor shooting performance and an inability to work the ball inside did SFA no favors in Beuamont last Saturday evening as the 'Jacks' suffered a 76-54 loss to Lamar at the Montagne Center.
• The 22-point loss was the 'Jacks' worst Southland Conference setback since the 2001-02 season. That year, SFA dropped a 62-37 decision at McNeese on March 2 - a 25-point loss.
• With the setback, SFA's 10-game winning streak over the Cardinals came to an end. Prior to Saturday, the last time Lamar had defeated SFA was on March 8, 2012, in the Southland Conference Tournament championship game. Heading into Saturday's game, SFA also carried an eight-game winning streak over Lamar in the Montagne Center. Prior to Saturday, SFA's last loss to the Cardinals on their home floor came on Feb. 25, 2004 (65-62).
• Shannon Bogues, who finished with a team-high 12 points, handed the 'Jacks one of their two leads in the game by drilling a fadeaway mid-range jumper as the shot clock expired on the game's opening possession. The game marked Bogues' third appearance in the starting lineup and the high-scoring junior has averaged 12.0 points per game as a starter - 2.4 points per game below his season average.
• Junior TJ Holyfield also added 12 points for SFA to go along with a team-best six rebounds. The Albuquerque, N.M., product went 2-of-2 from three-point range, giving him his first three-point field goal make in since Jan. 10 in the 'Jacks' home win over defending Southland Conference champion New Orleans. Saturday also represented Holyfield's first game with multiple three-pointers since he went 4-of-5 in SFA's 68-65 home win over Louisiana-Monroe back on Saturday, Dec. 2.
• Two Lamar players - Josh Nzeakor and Zjori Bosha - recorded double-doubles in the win. Bosha finished with 18 points and 10 boards while Nzeakor totaled 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Between those two players, 44.7-percent of the Cardinals' point total and 48.8-percent of their rebounds were represented.
• The 'Jacks registered season-lows in total points (54), first-half points (26), total rebounds (25), offensive rebounds (seven) and rebounding margin (-18) in the loss.
• SFA's 54 total points represented the squad's lowest point total in a Southland Conference game since Feb. 20, 2013, when the 'Jacks grinded to a 50-44 victory at Sam Houston State.
• The 'Jacks' rebounding margin of -18 was its worst since Dec. 29, 2015. That day, the 'Jacks were out-rebounded by 18 (44-26) in a 76-66 non-conference setback at UAB. Following that game, the 'Jacks reeled off 21-straight wins and reached the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
• Playing in front of a number of family members and friends, sophmore John Comeaux made a return to his hometown and finished with a team-high three assists.
• Sophomore guard Aaron Augustin played just 11 minutes, but managed to double his field goal total in Southland Conference games in that time. Augustin went 2-of-3 from the field, matching his field goal total through the team's first nine Southland Conference games of the season.
• The 'Jacks also tied a season-low by racking up only 12 points in the paint. It marked just the second time this season in which SFA failed to get at least 20 points in the painted area and the 'Jacks are now 0-2 when failing to rack up at least 20 points in the paint.
• Despite the loss, SFA maintained its status as the nation's most dominant team in conference play since 2012-13. Since that season the 'Jacks have gone 88-12 in Southland Conference play, good for a nation-leading win percentage of .880 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 88-13 (.871) in league games since 2012-13.
• Below is a full breakdown of where Stephen F. Austin's points came from in loss to Lamar:
Two-pointers | 40.7% (22-54)
Three-pointers | 38.9% (21-54)
Free throws | 20.4% (11-54)
Points in the paint | 22.2% (12-54)
Points off turnovers | 20.4% (11-54)
Second chance points | 9.3% (5-54)
Fast break points | 0% (0-54)
Starters points | 77.8% (42-54)
Bench Points | 22.2% (12-54)

THE LINE STARTS HERE
• Through 23 of their 31 regular season games, the 'Jacks are leading the 13-team Southland Conference in eight statistical categories.
• SFA is tops in the league in field goal percentage (.488, 24th nationally), rebounding margin (+3.3, 86th nationally), scoring margin (+11.4, 24th nationally), steals per game (10.7, second nationally), total steals (246, second nationally), turnover margin (+4.7, eighth nationally), turnovers forced per game (21.00, first nationally) and winning percentage (.783, 24th nationally).
• Another area where SFA is the best in the Southland is in terms of total wins. The 'Jacks' 18 wins are at least four more than any other team in the league and makes SFA one of 17 teams with exactly 18 triumphs this season. Just 27 other NCAA Division I men's basketball teams have posted more wins than the 'Jacks thus far in 2017-18.

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 43 more points to make it to 1,000 while Holyfield requires 48 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.

COMING UP NEXT
• Four of the 'Jacks' next six games will be played within the walls of William R. Johnson Coliseum and that stretch begins Saturday evening at 6:00 p.m. against longtime Louisiana rival Northwestern State.

-SFA-