Stephen F. Austin
Sam Houston State
SFA Closes out Regular Season with Saturday Night Showdown at Sam Houston State
3/2/2018 6:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball
'Jacks can clinch the number-three seed for the Southland Conference Tournament with a win
Stephen F. Austin (24-6, 13-4 Southland) at Sam Houston State (18-12, 12-5 Southland)
Saturday, March 3 | 7:00 p.m. | Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum (6,110) | Huntsville, Texas
Live Stats | Watch (ESPN3/ESPN app) | Listen (Q107.7/TuneIn) | SFA Game Notes | SHSU Game Notes
OPENING TIPS
• For its final regular season showdown of the 2017-18 campaign, the Stephen F. Austin men's basketball team embarks on a short journey south to do battle with age-old Piney Woods and Southland Conference adversary Sam Houston State at 7:00 p.m. Saturday night from Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum.
• The 201st meeting between the 'Jacks and Bearkats on the hardwood will be narrated by the duo of Lincoln Rose and Van Chancellor on ESPN3 and the ESPN app. Over the radio waves, Learfield's Lumberjack Sports Network (Q107.7 FM in Nacogdoches, nationwide via the TuneIn app) features Rob Meyers' play-by-play and analysis of the always-exciting showdown.
• To the victors of Saturday's prime time showdown go the spoils, which in this case are represented by the number-three seed for the Southland Conference Tournament. A win by the 'Jacks would cement them as the third seed in the postseason tournament for the second-straight season while a loss would make them the number-four seed.
• SFA is in the midst of a recent stretch of dominance in their series with Sam Houston State. The 'Jacks are 15-1 in their last 16 meetings with the Bearkats with the only setback in that span coming on Feb. 2, 2017 inside Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum. Last season's setback in Huntsville snapped SFA's six-game winning streak in the Bearkats' home city.
• After playing his final game inside William R. Johnson Coliseum Thursday night, senior guard Ty Charles can complete a major accomplishment Saturday night with a victory. If the 'Jacks win, it would give Charles 100 wins for his career and make him one of only five players in the history of the program with 100 or more wins in a career. He would join Dallas Cameron, Jacob Parker, Trey Pinkney and Thomas Walkup in that exclusive club.
• Another benchmark the 'Jacks are seeking Saturday night is a return to the 25-win plateau after not getting there in 2016-17. With one more win this season, SFA will have won 25 or more games in five of the last six seasons and if the 'Jacks get there they would be one of only nine NCAA Division I men's basketball teams with 25 or more wins in five of the last six seasons, joining Arizona, Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, Villanova and Wichita State on that list.
• A big reason why the Bearkats are poised to secure a top-three seed in the Southland Conference Tournament has been their defense. The Bearkats lead the league and rank 56th nationally in terms of scoring defense, allowing only 67.7 points per game to the opposition. That defense extends out beyond the arc, too, as the Bearkats also boast the league's best and the nation's eighth best three-point field goal defense, letting foes hit only 30.5-percent of their long range shots.
• Taking care of the basketball has been a key to the Bearkats' success as well. Sam Houston State ranks second in the Southland by committing only 13.4 turnovers per game. Junior John Dewey III, the team's primary ball handler, possesses the league's ninth-best assist-to-turnover ratio (1.4), ranks fifth in the Southland with 4.4 assists per game and is the league's second-best free throw shooter (84-of-97 (86.6-percent).
• Now in his final season of college basketball, all Chris Galbreth, Jr., has done is emerge as one of the most dominant players in the Southland Conference. The Chicago, Ill., product leads the Bearkats in both scoring (15.3 ppg) and rebounding (8.0/game), putting him ninth and third respectively in those statistical categories in the Southland. His 11 double-doubles this season are the second-most in the Southland and the 45th-most nationally.
• Getting to work on the glass is another calling card of the Bearkats who lead the Southland Conference and rank 71th in the nation with a rebounding margin of +3.3. In six of their 30 games, the Bearkats have held their foes under 20 rebounds.
• The Bearkats, like the 'Jacks, know a thing or two about protecting their home court this season. Sam Houston State is 13-1 inside Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum this season with its lone loss coming to Utah Valley State on Dec. 22, 2017. Since that setback, the Bearkats have won eight straight at home and have won nine straight Southland Conference games at home.
• Under head coach Jason Hooten, the Bearkats have won 21 or more games in three of the past four seasons. They need two wins to reach 20 this season, but in Hooten's tenure he has yet to solve SFA consistently. SHSU's bench boss is 3-16 (.158) against the 'Jacks in his seven-plus seasons in charge in Huntsville.
LAST TIME OUT
• The 'Jacks' three-man senior class of Ivan Canete, Ty Charles and Leon Gilmore III closed out their home careers with a win Wednesday night as the 'Jacks led wire-to-wire in their 76-56 triumph over visiting Abilene Christian inside William R. Johnson Coliseum.
• The win pushed the 'Jacks' home court win total to 16, tying the program record for home wins in a single season inside William R. Johnson Coliseum. Previously, the 'Jacks also won 16 games inside their home facility in 1983-84, 1985-86 and 2003-04.
• Once the final horn sounded, Canete wound up leading the 'Jacks in scoring with a game-high 15 points. Additionally, the senior passed out a game-high six assists and totaled a game-high five steals to keep the Wildcats off-balance.
• Although he netted just seven points in the win, Charles became the 30th player in program history to register 1,000 points in a career in the 'Jacks lopsided win. Needing only four to get to 1,000, Charles etched his name into the 'Jacks' history books with a 25-foot three-pointer in the closing seconds of the first half that pushed him over 1,000 points. He is one of only 14 player in program history with 1,000 or more points and 500 or more rebounds in a career, too.
• The 'Jacks defense established a new program record, too, by nabbing a total of 12 steals in Wednesday night's win. Those 12 steals pushed SFA's season total to 320 - a new single-season record. The previous record of 311 steals was set by SFA's 2015-16 club which captured a fourth-straight regular season Southland Conference title and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
• Leon Gilmore III continued his stretch of strong offensive outings by totaling 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting in the victory. The Houston, Texas, product has scored at least 10 points in each of the 'Jacks' last four games and shot 50-percent of better in seven of the 'Jacks' eight games in the month of February.
• Abilene Christian hit only five free throws in the loss - the fewest amount in a game by an SFA opponent this season.
• The 'Jacks upped their winning streak over the Wildcats to two games. Additionally, SFA made it six wins in a row over Abilene Christian inside William R. Johnson Coliseum - a site where the Wildcats have not won since 1981.
• After finishing with just three points in the 'Jacks' home loss to Lamar on Feb. 24, junior Shannon Bogues hit double-digits in the scoring column by finishing with 11 on 5-of-12 shooting. That upped the guard's 2017-18 point total to 467, putting him 33 points away from the 500-point mark. Should he get there, he would be just the 11th player in SFA's NCAA Division I history to score 500 or more points in a single season.
• TJ Holyfield and Ty Charles continued their climb up the 'Jacks career rebounding charts Wednesday night, too. Holyfield grabbed four rebounds in the win, pushing his career total to 560 - five away from moving up to fifth place on the 'Jacks' NCAA DI charts. Charles also grabbed four boards, giving him 555 for his career. That ranks seventh on SFA's all-time NCAA Division I-era rebounding list.
• SFA finished the game with an even 50-percent field goal percentage. It marks the ninth time in 17 home games that the 'Jacks hit at least 50-percent of their shots.
• With 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 94-13 in Southland Conference play, good for a nation-leading win percentage of .879 in that span. Joining the 'Jacks with the nation's best in-conference winning percentage since 2012-13 is Wichita State. The Shockers have also gone 94-13 in conference play through that same stretch after last night's overtime win at UCF.
• Below is a full breakdown of where Stephen F. Austin's points came from in its home loss to Lamar:
Two-pointers | 50% (38-76)
Three-pointers | 31.6% (24-76)
Free throws | 18.4% (14-76)
Points in the paint | 42.1% (32-76)
Points off turnovers | 31.6% (24-76)
Second chance points | 5.3% (4-76)
Fast break points | 13.2% (10-76)
Starters points | 61.8% (47-76)
Bench Points | 38.2% (29-76)
BOGUES IN BUNCHES
• In twenty-three of the 30 games junior Shannon Bogues has taken part in he has finished with 10 or more points. Because of that, he's currently leading the 'Jacks in scoring at 15.6 points per game.
• Unique in the fact that he has come off of the bench in all but three games, Bogues is the nation's second-leading bench scorer. Only UTSA's Jhivian Jackson (18.4 ppg, 29 games, 10 starts) has exceeded Bogues' scoring average as a bench player.
• The Killeen, Texas, product ranks seventh in the Southland Conference in scoring and 13th in the 13-team league with a field goal percentage of .516. His free throw percentage of .798 is the ninth-highest in the Southland, too.
• In all, Bogues has poured in 467 points this season and needs 33 more to become just the 10th player in SFA's NCAA Division I history to score 500 points in a single season.
FOLLOW THE LEADERS
• SFA leads the Southland Conference in 10 separate statistical categories including field goal percentage (49.4-percent, 18th nationally), free throws made (499, 28th nationally), free throws attempted (711, 24th nationally), scoring margin (+13.1, 12th nationally), steals per game (10.6, first nationally), three-point field goal percentage (37.5-percent, 67th nationally), total steals (319, first nationally), turnover margin (+5.0, fourth nationally), turnovers forced per game (20.63, first nationally) and win percentage (80.0, 19th nationally).
• TJ Holyfield ranks fourth in the Southland in field goal percentage (55.7-percent), while Kevon Harris leads the league in three-point field goal percentage (52-of-116, 44.8-percent).
YOU'RE A WINNER
• Only 17 NCAA Division I men's basketball teams in the nation have more wins than the 'Jacks at this point.
• SFA's 24 wins are at least three more than any other Southland Conference team so far this season.
• With one 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.
THE .500 MARK
• Lots of NCAA Division I men's basketball teams around the nation boast three players who are averaging greater than 10 points per game, but not many of them have a trio like SFA does.
• Each of SFA's top three scorers - Shannon Bogues (15.6 ppg), Kevon Harris (15.4 ppg) and TJ Holyfield (13.2 ppg) are hitting at least 50-percent of their shots from the field.
• Both Holyfield (fourth, .557) and Bogues (13th, .516) are among the top 15 players in the Southland Conference in terms of field goal percentage while Harris (.502) ranks 18th.
COMING UP NEXT
• Thursday inside the Leonard E. Merrell Center, the 'Jacks will take the floor in the quarterfinal round of the Southland Conference Tournament. SFA will play at either 5:00 or 7:30 p.m. against an opponent to be determined.
-SFA-
