First February Home Action Pits 'Jacks against Northwestern State

Saturday, February 10

Nacogdoches, Texas

6:00 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

Northwestern State

First February Home Action Pits 'Jacks against Northwestern State

2/9/2018 6:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball

'Jacks remain one game back of first place in Southland standings

By: Charlie Hurley | Director of Athletic Media Relations

OPENING TIPS
• On the cusp of hitting the 20-win mark for the first time in head coach Kyle Keller's tenure at Stephen F. Austin and for the ninth time in 11 seasons, the 'Jacks make their first appearance in William R. Johnson Coliseum in the month of February to host age-old Louisiana adversary Northwestern State Saturday evening at 6:30 p.m.
• Tipton Ford of Nacogdoches is sponsoring the 129th meeting of the 'Jacks and Demons and Rob Meyers is set to call the latest installment of second-lengthiest series in program history. Meyers' play-by-play and analysis can by heard worldwide on the ESPN3/ESPN app video broadcast of the tilt while fans listening over the airwaves in Nacogdoches can turn their dials to Q107.7 FM. Additionally, the TuneIn app will carry Meyers' call of the game on the Lumberjack Sports Network.
• One of the teams stationed in a five-squad logjam at the top of the Southland Conference standings, SFA trails Nicholls by just one game for the top spot in the 13-team league. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Northwestern State is one of two Southland squads that have yet to taste victory in a league tilt this season.
• Ten of the last 11 triumphs in the all-time series have gone to the 'Jacks with the Demons' lone triumph in that span coming inside William R. Johnson Coliseum last March as the Demons escaped with a 72-67 triumph. Three of those 11 meetings have been decided by fewer than 10 points, too.
• Over the last five games the 'Jacks' offense has dialed it up a notch or two by pumping in 90 or more points on three occasions. SFA's shooting percentages have a little something to do with that as the 'Jacks are hitting field goals at a rate of 52-percent during that span. Equally impressive is SFA's long-range shooting in that time as the 'Jacks have drilled 45.1-percent of their triple tries.
• The individuals best personifying the team's hot shooting has been junior Shannon Bogues. In his last five outings, Bogues is averaging 19.2 points per game and has delivered 22.3-percent of SFA's point total. In 27.2 minutes of action, Bogues has hit 53.2-percent of his shots (33-of-62) including 52.6-percent (10-of-19) of his tries from beyond the arc.
• SFA has gone 84-3 inside William R. Johnson Coliseum since 2012-13, boasting the nation's best home winning percentage (.965) over that span.

SFA vs. NORTHWESTERN STATE | SERIES HISTORY
Games | 128
All-Time Series | SFA trails 62-66 (.484)
In Nacogdoches, Texas | 37-21 (.638)
At William R. Johnson Coliseum | 19-13 (.594)
In Natchitoches, La. | 22-38 (.367)
At Prather Coliseum | 17-19 (.472)
Last Win | at NSU 56, SFA 64 (1/6/18)
Last Home Win | at SFA 83, NSU 72 (2/8/16)
Last Road Win | at NSU 56, SFA 64 (1/6/18)
Last Loss | at SFA 67, NSU 72 (3/2/17)
Last Home Loss | at SFA 67, NSU 72 (3/2/17)
Last Road Loss | at NSU 61, SFA 57 (1/26/13)
Largest Margin of Victory | 40, at NSU 55, SFA 95 (3/3/16)
Largest Margin of Defeat | 27, at NSU 97, SFA 70 (2/20/99)
Current Streak | SFA won one
SFA Points (Avg.) | 8,327 (65.1)
Northwestern State Points (Avg.) | 8,265 (64.6)
Keller vs. Northwestern State | 2-1 (.667)
At William R. Johnson Coliseum | 0-1 (.000)
At Prather Coliseum | 2-0 (1.000)
Keller vs. McConathy | 2-1 (.667)
McConathy vs. SFA | 15-22 (.405)
SFA all-time on 2/10 | 14-10 (.583)

SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN STATE | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• Mired in the program's longest losing streak since 1977, Northwestern State has dropped 15 games in a row. That's the third-longest active streak without a win in the nation, but it almost came to an end last Wednesday night in Natchitoches. Trailing by two with seven seconds to go, Northwestern State had a chance to put in a tying or go-ahead basket but Lamar's Joey Frenchwood came up with a crucial steal that wound up putting the Demons on the wrong end of a 79-75 tally.
• One of Northwestern State's lone bright spots has been junior Ishmael Lane who leads the team in scoring (13.6 ppg), rebounding (7.5/game) and blocked shots (1.9/game). Lane's 43 total rejections are the second-most in the Southland Conference while his seven double-doubles represent the fourth-highest total in the 13-team league. Exactly 20.7-percent of the Demons' rebounds have come courtesy of Lane who ranks third in the Southland with a field goal percentage of .537.
• The Demons' roster consists of six freshmen and makes Northwestern State the nation's fifth-youngest team. Freshman C.J. Jones has been tasked with running the point for the majority of the season and has put in 5.3 points per game since his collegaite career began back in November.
• The road has not been kind to the Demons since the start of the 2015-16 season. In that span, Northwestern State has gone just 8-34 in true road games which translates to a winning percentage of only .190. NSU's lone road win this season was a 76-61 win at Louisiana-Monroe on Nov. 21.
• Northwestern State ranks 351st - or last - in the nation in six statistical categories including assist-to-turnover ratio (0.53), assists per game (9.0), three-pointers per game (4.3), three-point field goal percentage (.271), three-pointers made (99) and total assists (207).
• Despite all of their recent struggles against SFA, the Demons can still claim to have an all-time advantage over the 'Jacks - something no other Southland Conference team can boast about. Northwestern State is the only team in the 13-team league which possesses a winning record (66-62, .516) over the 'Jacks.

LAST TIME OUT
• Blitzing the Cowboys with a long-range barrage that wound up ranking as one of the top five in program history, the 'Jacks recovered nicely from their lowest scoring output of the season last Saturday and hung on for a 99-95 victory over McNeese inside Burton Coliseum Thursday night. The win kept the 'Jacks within striking distance of the top spot in the Southland standings with seven regular season games to go.
• At no points did the 'Jacks suffer for offense - especially from downtown. SFA connected on 11 of its season-high 15 three-pointers in the opening half and finished an absurd 11-of-13 (84.6-percent) from distance through the opening 20 minutes. That assault from three-point land helped the visitors post a 24-point cushion at the conclusion of the opening stanza.
• In all, five players finished with 12 or more points for the 'Jacks including senior Leon Gilmore III who turned in his second double-double of the season. The Houston, Texas, product racked up 14 points and hauled in 10 of the 'Jacks' 34 rebounds (29.4-percent). Additionally, GIlmore III led SFA in assists, dishing out four of them.
• Thursday night's fracas in Lake Charles also marked sophomore Kevon Harris' return to the 'Jacks' lineup. The Ellenwood, Ga., product had missed the last two full games - and most of SFA's tilt with Sam Houston State back on January 27 - with a leg injury, but posted a game-high 18 points on 5-of-11 shooting in his return to action. With that, Harris hiked his team-leading scoring average to 16.2.
• SFA's co-leader in scoring was junior Shannon Bogues who enjoyed his most effective night from three-point range in an SFA uniform. Bogues drilled four of his five tries from distance and also finished with 18. Between Bogues and Harris, 36 of the 'Jacks' 48 bench points were represented and those two helped SFA finish +26 against the Cowboys in that category.
• The 'Jacks' 15 total three-pointers were tied for the fourth-most in a single game in program history and represented the team's highest tally in a single game since 2015. On Feb. 28 of that year, SFA connected on 16 triples in a Southland Conference victory at Houston Baptist.
• SFA needed each and every point it could get, however, as McNeese made things interesting in the game's final six minutes. With SFA up by 20 with 6:04 to go, the Cowboys netted 32 of the game's final 48 points to account for the final margin.
• In the final minute, SFA misfired on seven of eight free throw tries with sophomore Aaron Augustin hitting SFA's lone freebie. That make capped a 13-point night for the Suwanee, Ga., product, giving him a career-high in scoring in the process. Augustin dished out four assists and drained two of SFA's 15 triples.
• In all, eight different players hit a three for the 'Jacks who hit a season-low 53.8-percent (14-of-26) of their free throws. As a matter of fact, the 'Jacks finished with one more three-pointer made (15) than free throws made.
• Thanks to their accurate touch from three-point land, SFA's long ball percentage in 2017-18 rose to .363. That's the second-best in the Southland Conference behind Central Arkansas.
• The 'Jacks came tantalizingly close to their fourth effort of 100 or more points of the season in the win, too. Two of the top ten highest point totals in a game in the Southland have come courtesy of SFA who has hit the century mark in three or more games for the first time since 2014-15.
• 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 89-12 in Southland Conference play, good for a nation-leading win percentage of .881 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 its high-scoring triumph over McNeese:
Two-pointers | 54.5% (54-99)
Three-pointers | 45.5% (45-99)
Free throws | 14.1% (14-99)
Points in the paint | 34.3% (34-99)
Points off turnovers | 15.1% (15-99)
Second chance points | 6.0% (6-99)
Fast break points | 4.0% (4-99)
Starters points | 51.5% (51-99)
Bench Points | 48.5% (48-99)

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 39 more points to make it to 1,000 while Holyfield requires 36 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
• Two of the 'Jacks final three road games of the regular season will take place next week beginning with a Wednesday night battle with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. Tip-off has been set for 7:00 p.m.

-SFA-