Stephen F. Austin
26-6
#7 Central Arkansas
17-16
'Jacks Put Clamps on Central Arkansas, Howard, in 86-64 SLC Tourney Quarterfinal Win
3/8/2018 11:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball
SFA moves on to face Nicholls in Southland Tournament semifinals Friday night
KATY, Texas - Headed into the 2018 Southland Conference Tournament, the previous four Southland Conference Player of the Year winners eventually led their teams to the league's tournament title and the league's berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Thursday night, the Stephen F. Austin men's basketball team made sure that trend did not continue for a fifth-straight season.
Ivan Canete led four Lumberjacks who reached double-digits by putting a game-high 17 points, Kevon Harris set the tone on the glass with a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double and the 'Jacks dominated Central Arkansas, frustrated 2018 Southland Conference Player of the Year Jordan Howard and marched on to the semifinal round of the Southland Conference Tournament with an 86-64 victory over the Bears at the Leonard E. Merrell Center.
Right from the jump ball, SFA made it abundantly clear that nothing would come easy for Howard - the nation's third-leading scorer at 25.8 points per game. With every man on the 'Jacks' roster making a concerted effort to make sure Howard got zero easy looks, UCA's high-scoring senior finished with just 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting.
Moreover, Howard was held scoreless in the second half, marking the first time a team accomplished that since November 19, 2015 (UMass).
"I thought our guys really played well tonight," remarked SFA head coach Kyle Keller following the win that pushed the 'Jacks into the league tournament semifinals for the seventh-straight season. "We dominated the boards and I challenged Kevon this week to excel in another are and rely on something other than his jump shot."
Leon Gilmore III hit the double-digit mark in the rebounding department Thursday night, finishing with 10 and helping the higher seeded 'Jacks own an impressive 45-24 (+21) edge on the glass. Of Harris' game-high 11 rebounds, seven were of the offensive variety and matched UCA's entire offensive rebounding total on the night.
Due to the glaring advantage on the glass, SFA racked up 22 second-chance points and outscored the Bears 38-18 in the paint. TJ Holyfield finished with 16 points and a pair of SFA's 15 assists while Ty Charles added 10 markers in his third-straight start.
Both the 'Jacks and their fans - who once again did a superb job of coming out in droves to support their squad - could not have asked for a better start than the one SFA got off to. Harris hit a pair of three pointers, Holyfield added an additional one and in all five 'Jacks put in points during a 19-8 run through the game's first 6:18. Ten of Holyfield's points came in the first half before the junior took a seat after picking up two fouls in quick succession.
From there, SFA's lead shrank to fewer than 10 points on just three occasions for the remainder of the half. The last time it happened was when Howard connected on his second and final three-pointer of the game to trim the 'Jacks' edge to 43-34 with 1:19 left in the frame.
On the ensuing SFA possession, however, Shannon Bogues swished a corner triple of his own that pushed the lead back to 12.
Upon his return to the game at the start of the second half, Holyfield picked up right where he left off after picking up his two early first-half fouls. The junior started the final frame with a two-handed dunk and converted another layup with some contact to boot that provided the early portion of a 14-4 run by the higher seed to start the half.
All of the 'Jacks' 14 points in the run were put in by Canete and Holyfield with the former swishing two of his game-best three triples during the surge.
Ty Charles extended SFA's huge lead to 23, 62-39, after his mid-range jumper at the 13:47 mark of the half before the Bears showed their teeth one final time. Thatch Unruh turned in a four-point play during an 8-0 Central Arkansas run which cut the 'Jacks' lead to 15, 62-47, with 12:21 left in the game.
Charles, however, had no intentions of letting Central Arkansas keep their comeback fire burning as he reeled off the next five SFA points with a corner three-pointer and a finger roll finish off of a steal by Holyfield.
A 10-2 Central Arkansas burst capped with a three-pointer from Jared Chatham pulled the Bears within 12, 69-52, with 8:48 left before the 'Jacks clamped down on defense to finish the job. After that run, the Bears were held scoreless for 3:35 while Harris put an exclamation point on a 9-0 SFA run with a massive two-handed fast break slam that put the 'Jacks back up by 21 with 6:05 to go.
The next obstacle on the 'Jacks' path to a fourth NCAA Tournament berth in the past five years is second-seeded Nicholls who won a share of the 2017-18 Southland Conference regular season title. Friday night at 7:30 p.m., the 'Jacks and Colonels will cross paths in the Merrell Center in the first Southland Conference Tournament meeting between the two squads since 1995.
-SFA-
